Who Goes There?
by SWGoji2001
Summary: Earth Setting, Star Wars Rebels-The Thing AU. An Antarctic research expedition discovers a crashed ancient spacecraft. They find an alien frozen in ice and recover it, only to realize too late that it's still alive. Not knowing who to trust, Sabine, Ezra, and Kallus must find a way to kill the Thing before it kills them all.
1. Chapter 1: A Destroyed Base

**Hello There!** **This being my first fanfic, please tell me any feedback you may have.** **I'd love any advice that'll help me improve my quality of writing.**

 **Antarctica, 1987:**

The helicopters thundered over the antarctic ice. US Navy Commander Ahsoka Tano looked out nervously, awaiting the fate of Outpost #17, codenamed Fulcrum. She had left weeks ago with her RAF liason Captain Hera Syndulla to deliver a report to McMurdo Base commander Kanan Jarrus.

She had left Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus in charge of the base. He was a perfectly capable officer and was well equiped to command in her absense. But Commander Tano had been forced to remain at McMurdo for much longer than she anticipated. A blizzard had grounded her helicopter for over two weeks. Matters had been made worse when a desperate radio call had come through the storm.

Ahsoka had been talking with Captain Syndulla and her husband Kanan when it came through. There was a lot of static, but she heard the voice of radio operator Ketsu Onyo, then multiple gunshots before the line went dead.

A few hours later, as Hera tried to reestablish contact with Outpost Fulcrum, a massive explosion rocked a helicopter sent to investigate. A fire could be seen in the direction of the Outpost. Unfortunately, the helicopter was unable to penetrate the blizzard and forced to turn back.

A team had been immediately sent on a snowcat to reach the base, but they had also been forced to retreat due to the inhospitable conditions. It had been ten days since the explosion and the storm finally cleared. They had to act now, or the antarctic night would ground them for nearly 6 months. Three of McMurdo's helicopters were scrambled, Hera piloting the one holding Ahsoka and Kanan.

They neared the Outpost, and Ahsoka steeled herself for what she would find. A minute later, she heard Kanan gasp. Ahsoka and Hera looked over and what they saw astonished them completely. Hera was speechless, and all Ahsoka could say was, "My God."

The Outpost had exploded and burned. The snow and ice around it had been blackened by smoldering wreckage and soot. Outpost Fulcrum had been all but destroyed.

The three helicopters landed and Ahsoka and Hera got out. A squad of US Navy soldiers and marines flanked them as the two officers sorted through the smoking wreckage. Most of Outpost Fulcrum was destroyed by fire, but some of the tunnels and corridors were still standing. They were half collapsed, but still accessable.

The first squad entered the ruins while Ahsoka and Hera set up a makeshift command center in the helicopters. Corporal Wedge Antilles turned on the flashlight on his MP5SD3 and stepped into the ruined tunnels. The walls showed signs of battle: pockmarks from bullets, spent shell cases, burnt wood and scorched steel. The passages smelled of death, blood, and kerosene. There were empty kerosene buckets and the emptied tanks from blowtorches, fire extinguishers, and flamethrowers in certain buildings.

They came upon an ajar door. Wedge aimed his lantern along the contents of the room. There had been an explosion in the room. Broken glass littered the floor while radio equipment littered the shelves, but his attention was drawn to two masses on the floor. Bodies.

Cpl. Antilles clicked his headset, "Commander Tano, we found a body in these destroyed tunnels. It looks like the radio room."

Her mind flashed back to the radio call, with Ketsu's voice and gunshots. She swallowed, then replied, "Right. Captain Syndulla and I will be right there."

Ahsoka nearly puked as she entered the tunnel. She pushed aside the stench as she clambered over chunks of ice and arrived in the radio room. It was as if a bomb had gone off. Burnt papers had been strewn everywhere, chairs were broken, and a body laid on the ground with a gun in its palm. The body was charred beyond recognition. It smelled of alcohol and gasoline. Ahsoka knelt down and examined the gun, it was smashed, the barrel broken "It's from Jyn's cache all right." She picked it up and inspected the magazine, "It's been fully discharged. Empty clip. It looks like Ketsu fired at this... this person multiple times."

She turned to the two soldiers with her, "Lets search the room. Try to find something, anything, that'll help us." With a nod, they got to work. But the room was empty, nothing of importance was visible. The only thing that Ahsoka could discern was that someone had thrown a molotov cocktail into the room.

Shaking her head, Ahsoka stood and turned to Wedge's squad. "Two of you guard this room. Corporal Antilles and one other on me, we need to figure out what happened here. And if there are any survivors." She turned to Hera and pointed to the charred humanoid corpse, "Get the medical officer down here. Have him conduct an autopsy on... on that."

Flanked by Wedge and another soldier, Ahsoka went deeper into the complex. They shortly arrived at the dorms and Ahsoka entered the room of Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus. On his desk lay a voice recorder.

Wedge spoke up, "Commander, we'll head further into the base. See if we find anything else."

She nodded, then picked up the recorder and looked at it. There were multiple logs recorded in the past few weeks. Slowly, Ahsoka hit the play button.

 _"Log 3/4/1987. I have been placed in command by Commander Tano. She told me this morning that she had to go to McMurdo to deliver a report to Station Commander Kanan Jarrus. With the Antarctic winter a couple weeks away, I can only hope she returns before it begins._

 _Mattin, Sumar, and Kell have left about 80 miles to the south. They said they picked up an abnormal magnetic reading that deviated from the pole. They took a snowcat out to investigate. We should soon find out what they recorded._

 _Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17"_

She moved on to a new tape a couple days later:

 _"Log 3/6/1987. Mattin, Kell, and Sumar reported in today. They claimed to have found a strange object in the ice. A crashed airplane? Perhaps, but maybe not. I have the approximate coordinates, and they said they would check it out before returning to base. We will find out what they saw soon._

 _Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17"_

Ahsoka shut off the recorder, a strange object? Could it have been a crashed airplane? Could it have had some effect on the strange corpses and the disappearance of the crew of the base? Intrigued, Ahsoka played the next tape:

 _"Log 3/7/1987. Mattin, Sumar, and Kell have reported in. I cannot say this any other way, but they claim to have discovered an alien spacecraft, or something like it. They claim it flew down here out of control many hundreds of thousands of years ago and smashed into the side of a mountain. We have the location, and I'm sending out an expedition immediately. The position is an hour from here by helicopter and 8 by snowcat. I intend to take a helicopter out and support them. Unfortunately, radio communications have been out because of the blizzard at McMurdo, I would contact Commander Tano otherwise._

 _Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17"_

Ahsoka stopped the recording. An alien spacecraft? Was it true? Did it have anything to do with the destruction of the base? She closed her eyes and endured off the coming flashback. The North Pole Incident, her mentor Anakin firing the flare gun and the beast running into the snow. She forced the memory away. Wary, but curious to know more, Ahsoka played the next tape.

 _"Log 3/9/1987. If I had not been there, I would not have believed what Mattin, Sumar, and Kell told me. We found... something at those coordinates all right, and I have no doubt that it was a UFO. It was tube-shaped, about 250 feet long. It almost looked like a submarine without a conning tower or directional vanes. We dug down through the ice and found an entrance. The door was ajar, but jammed with ice, unable to be opened. I could see the inside, things had been smashed around, but it was still in fairly good condition. What surprised us the most was we discovered what could be an extraterrestrial. Our working theory is that it stumbled out of the crash and was frozen in a blizzard. However it was frozen, we excavated it in a block of ice and strapped it to the snowcat._

 _Corporal Erso and I decided to loosen the ice around the ship with a thermite charge. Unfortunately, the thermite ignited the magnesium hull of the ancient spacecraft. It erupted into white-hot fire that blanketed the region. The only reason we are not dead is because of the strong winds. The winds blew the flames away from us. We saw multiple dark hulks burning inside the craft, possibly other passengers. Several large explosions signaled that the engines had blown up, secrets that could have given us the stars, gone in an instant of blazing glory. The ice from the mountain crashed down on the ship, destroying what had not been burned in the fire._

 _We managed to reach base today, and the debate, over whether to thaw the alien out or leave it in the ice, began. Some, led by chief biologist Guerrera, believe that there is no danger from the thing. Others lead by meteorologist Bridger and his girlfriend, helicopter mechanic/pilot Wren, believe it should be destroyed. Bridger claims to be having nightmares about the thing breaking free and killing us, imitating us, one by one until we are all dead. I must admit, I have been having similar dreams myself, but Guerrera is insistent that the thing is dead and will stay dead. Our medic, Kell, also believes there is no danger. Guerrera has started chipping the ice away._

 _I must say though, I don't like the looks of it. I got my first good look at it when Saw removed the tarp. The way those three red eyes stare at us, as if it knows we are here, and the way its hair looks like blue worms. I can only hope Guerrera and Kell are correct. For all our sakes._

 _Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17"_

Ahsoka paused. Her thoughts were broken when she heard pounding boots on the ground outside. Wedge ran in, "Commander! You've got to see this."

"What?"

"I'm not sure, ma'am. We found something in the ad building. We think they're bodies. What've you got there?"

"I found Lieutenant Kallus' logs, they've been very interesting so far."

Wedge nodded as Ahsoka placed the recorder in her pack. The two scrambled over the wreckage in the hallway to enter the ad building and they found another body. It was blown apart by a close range explosion and its head was lying a short distance away. It appeared to have one mouth, but two faces. In what used to be the corpse's torso, there was the melted remains of an HK93 semiautomatic rifle

The other soldier emerged from a door, "Commander, Wedge, I found something interesting. Looks like a supply room. Come on."

They passed what was once the dog kennel. The walls showed signs of a battle. Shotgun shells littered the floor and the room smelled of burnt flesh and kerosene. The residue of a fire extinguisher was also visable.

Moving on, they found the supply room. What was inside was a solid block of ice, but there was an indent, as if something had been frozen and had broken out of it. There was also a hole in the roof. Her mind briefly flashed back, past seeing Kallus' logs, 20 years ago to the North Pole. It stood there, still haunting her, stalking towards her and Rex.

Ahsoka's breath caught in her throat as she snapped out of the flashback, "The Thing."

Wedge noticed this, "The what?"

Quickly, Ahsoka pulled out Kallus' recorder and played the last log she heard. Wedge's eyes widened, "Is it possible?"

"I believe so. Wait, there's another."

 _"Log 3/10/1987. What I feared has come to pass. The Thing is alive and possibly still on the loose. Leonis was on guard in the supply room as the Thing slowly thawed. It then burst free of the block of ice, escaping through the roof. Leonis barely made it out alive, he claimed. It stumbled into Dogtown and killed Charnauk, the lead huskie. The huskies kept it at bay until we arrived. Sumar... Sumar tried to get a better look, but got grabbed by the Thing. We fired at it, doing little to no damage. It began engulfing him, engulfing Sumar, and... and it... it began to assimilate him. Bridger turned the fire extinguisher on it, but Sumar was too far gone. It wasn't until Erso turned the flamethrower on it that the thing was finally killed. We had to burn Sumar with it, he had been stabbed through the chest._

 _Guerrera autopsied it, and the Thing's cells appeared to be attacking and consuming, assimilating Sumar's. We did discover that the Thing is unable to imitate inorganic matter. Anyone with something like dental fillings or earings is human. If someone is missing those, they're a Thing. Guerrera suspects Leonis of being a Thing, that all of us could be imitations. He's gone insane, and thinks that the only way to save humanity is to kill us all._

 _The dogs were all assimilated by now, they had to be burnt. Fire and electricity seem to be the only way to kill it. We can shoot out its eyes, but it'll still live. Still be able to assimilate living things. Fire extinguishers disorientate it, but fire and electricity are its enemy. And with no more dogs and no more animals, it has to imitate us._

 _The Thing doesn't want to show itself; it wants to hide inside an imitation. It'll fight if it has to, but it's vulnerable out in the open. If it takes us over, then it has no more enemies. Nobody left to kill it. And then it's won._

 _Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus, Acting Commander US Outpost 17."_

Suddenly, Ahsoka's eyes widened in alarm and she grabbed her radio, "Captain Syndulla, come in! Come in!"

Hera's voice was perplexed, hearing the alarm and urgency in Ahsoka's voice, "What's wrong, Commander?"

"Order all troops to be on high alert. I suspect that foul play happened here. If you see anything out of the ordinary, shoot first and ask questions later. And at all costs, lock the helicopters. Don't let them take off without my explicit authorization."

"Why? What did you find?"

"I have reason to believe that the crew of Outpost 17 was hunted and killed by an extraterrestrial of unkown appearance and origin. It imitated certain members of the crew and systematically killed them off. I don't know if they managed to kill it."

Hera's voice was filled with disbelief, "Err... Commander, is this a joke. That's... that's impossible. Isn't it?"

"It's true. I located Lieutenant Kallus' logs and he reports this. Evidence Corporal Antilles and I have found proves it. And..." she paused, remembering the North Pole incident, "Aliens exist. I've faced something like this before. Switch all weapons to incendiaries. Kallus' log says those are the only way to kill the Thing.

"I also want you to call back the guards in the radio room. Have them switch their weaponry and postpone the autopsy until we know the Thing is dead."

Hera could only nod, "Yes, Commander."

Ahsoka shut off her radio and the three continued moving.

 **-0-**

Outside, a Navy soldier spotted something lying in the snow, a severed arm. Curiously, he picked it up. He was inspecting it when a horrid transformation occured. The arm sprouted legs like an insect and grabbed hold of his arm. The soldier tried to throw the Thing off, but it was too strong. It scuttled up his arm towards his face. The soldier let out a choking gurgle as he tried to scream.

 **-0-**

Ahsoka held her rifle at the ready, her M203 grenade launcher loaded, and she strapped a thermite charge on her belt. Ahsoka also found a flamethrower in the supply room, Wedge carried it now. They moved quickly, scanning every room. They found the garage, all snowcats and the helicopter destroyed. They moved on and found the command center.

The command center showed signs of an explosion, and in the room was another body, this one not charred like the rest. Tears swam in Ahsoka's eyes as she rolled the body over. "No. Please no." It was Lieutenant Kallus. There was a bullet hole in his chest. Ahsoka sat there on the ground, quietly mourning the death of one of her friends in the Navy.

Ahsoka radioed Hera, "Captain Syndulla, come in."

"Syndulla here, what is it Commander?"

"Send two men with a stretcher. We found Lieutenant Kallus."

Hera had some hope in her voice, "Alive?"

A tear streaked down Ahsoka's face, "No, dead. Shot in the chest."

"I'll send them at once, Commander. Syndulla out."

Wedge walked up, "Commander, are we sure he's human?"

A new voice, weak and raspy, answered Wedge's question, "He's human. He saved us."

Ahsoka, Wedge, and the other soldier spun to see two figures in the doorway.

One of them stepped into the light, holding a flamethrower. A small bit of flame burned from the end, ready to fire. "But what about you? Are you human? Are you _really_ Commander Tano?"

Ahsoka's breath caught in her throat as she recognized the speaker's black and purple dyed hair, "Sabine? You're alive?"

 **Update : I've changed a few details (conditions of the base, state of the bodies), removed Ketsu's corpse from the radio room (I have a different plot surrounding her), and added two scenes in**

 **1) The arm-Thing assimilating a soldier**

 **2) Ahsoka's flashbacks to the North Pole (I have plans to make a prequel and sequel when I'm done with this story)**

 **I hope that these changes will make my story flow better with future chapters.**


	2. Chapter 2: Survivors and Battles

**As many of you have already figured out, yes this story is based on The Thing.** **I'm trying to combine elements of the 1982 and 2011 movies together with the book "Who Goes There?," so some elements may be the same, others new. This is also rated T, so I'm going to try to keep it as T-rated as possible. Let me know if you think I should change the rating.**

 **I'm also kind of writing this on the fly, so updates may be somewhat slow.** **I hope to update weekly or semi-weekly, but I've never been one for following a schedule.**

 ** _SirLoozElite_** \- _Glad you liked the beginning, I thought of this after finding my copy of "Who Goes There?" (I think everyone should read it, it's one of my favorite books). I'm glad you liked me replacing Blair with Saw, it came to me after trying to determine who the most paranoid person in Star Wars is. As for Childs, he may have been a Thing, he may not have; I honestly think he was infected, but everyone's entitled to their own opinion._

 _ **Guest 1 -** I'm glad you like it so far, and yes this is __based on the movies and the book._

 _ **Guest 2 -** Good to hear that you liked the first chapter. As for Ezra's fate, this chapter should answer that._

 ** _Achilles453 -_** _I'm glad you like Kallus' logs and Saw being paranoid. As I said above, updates may be slow, but I hope you enjoy this next chapter._

 _ **Guest 3 -** That's the problem with Things, who knows who's human._

 **Command Center, Outpost 17 'Fulcrum', March 1987**

Sabine Wren didn't answer, instead, she motioned with the flamethrower, "Open your mouth. Show me your teeth."

Ahsoka immediately realized where Sabine was going with that statement, "Inorganic matter, right?" Sabine raised her eyebrow, and lifted the flamethrower. She was about to fire when Ahsoka held up her hands and quickly said, "I heard Kallus' logs. Don't burn me!"

Sabine didn't relax her trigger finger, "Prove it. Show me the logs." Ahsoka did so and played one. Sabine nodded, then said, "The Thing's telepathic too." Sabine then repeated her earlier demand, "Show me your teeth." Ahsoka did so, and luckily for her Ahsoka had a dental filling. The other soldier had an earring, so he was safe, but Wedge had neither.

Sabine pointed the flamethrower at Wedge, "Has he been with you the entire time?" Ahsoka shook her head, as did the other soldier, remembering how Wedge had gone from the ad building to the dorms by himself.

Sabine cocked her head and said to Ahsoka and the other soldier, "Get back. Now!" Ahsoka saw the other figure behind Sabine come into view, carrying a hammer. Sabine shrugged off her flamethrower and took the hammer. The other figure picked the flamethrower up as Sabine said, "Now, we'll find out what you are."

She swung the hammer at Wedge, hitting him in the head. Ahsoka and the other soldier were about to run forward and restrain Sabine when the other figure lifted the flamethrower and growled at them, "Don't." Sabine and Wedge grappled and traded punches, until she swung the hammer again, claw first, and made contact with Wedge's arm, drawing blood. Wedge yelled, grabbing his arm as some blood spilled onto the floor.

She ignited a flare, bathing the darkened room in the reddish glare. Sabine held the hammer in front of the flare, heating it until the head grew red-hot. She dropped it onto the blood. Perplexed, Ahsoka watched as it sizzled, but did nothing. Sabine stepped back, "I guess you're human after all."

Wedge screamed in anger, "No shit I'm human! What'd you have to do that for?!?"

"Sorry about that," the other person said throwing back the hood of their parka, "We can't permit the Thing to escape."

Ahsoka nearly jumped when she saw him. "Ezra! You made it too!"

Ezra Bridger nodded as Sabine took the back her flamethrower. But the look of concern didn't leave Sabine's face, "You shouldn't have come. This place needed to be forgotten, abandoned, destroyed. Wiped from the face of the Earth."

"Why? Did you kill the Thing? Are there any other survivors?"

Ezra shook his head, "No, it's just Sabine and I. And we don't know if the Thing is truly dead. We burned them, every one we found."

"What do you mean? Why would it not be dead then?"

Sabine answered, "Even a few living cells can assimilate something. We burned every Thing we discovered, but several of the crew disappeared completely in the chaos. They may be dead, alive, or assimilated. We'd hoped you would have napalmed the entire base. That's what Ketsu tried to contact you about, but we didn't know if it got through."

Ahsoka's mind again flashed back to that desperate radio call, "What happened to Ketsu?"

Sabine winced, "For that, you'll need to know the full story. But we can't tell it here, not now. We need to leave, burn this place, burn everything!"

 **-0-**

Meanwhile, the Soldier-Thing continued masquerading as a soldier of Bravo Squad, and snuck up on another unsuspecting marine. Quickly, it covered the marine's mouth with one hand and dragged it into the shadows to finish the assimilation.

The other four members of Bravo Squad located the mess hall/kitchen and entered. There was a squishing sound coming from the room. The squad leader shined his flashlight around the room to see a man enveloped in tentacles. The soldier's face was blank, his body barely squirming as he was assimilated. They watched with wide eyes as the tentacles slowly retracted and the soldier slowly began morphing into the man it used to be. They were so fixated on this that they failed to hear the floorboards creak behind them.

 **-0-**

Ahsoka's radio clicked, an incoming message. It was from Hera, "Commander, a squad's gone missing."

"Missing! What do you mean missing!"

"Bravo team was investigating the kitchen when they missed their check-in. Delta claims to have heard gunfire from that area. They went to investigate and reported finding shredded uniforms."

Sabine's tan skin had gone from pale to ghost white, and Ahsoka noticed for the first time how banged up and shaken they were. Sabine had frostbite on her nose, left ear, and probably on her hands and feet. Ezra was also frostbitten, and they both looked badly malnourished. It was a miracle either of them were still on their feet. Adenaline probably.

 **-0-**

The soldier-Thing stepped back, satisfied with it's work. Three of the remaining four-strong military group had been assimilated, and the last had been shot and was going to die. It looked around at the new Things, some of which were joining together, combining body mass to create larger, more dangerous creatures. Another group had heard the battle and was on its way. Excellent, more body mass in the humans to assimilate. Maybe the Thing could finally get out of this forsaken frozen wilderness.

Wait, in two of those among the humans, the Thing could feel nothing but cold determination. _Them!_ The ones the humans called Sabine and Ezra. The Thing seethed in anger at the thought. Those two, with the one called Kallus, were responsable for the destruction of the Thing's bretheren. It would kill them first.

It had been a prisoner once before, and it had escaped and killed its captors. Now it was imprisoned again, but this time, it couldn't kill its captor. It couldn't kill the cold, windswept terrain of this desolate wasteland. It had to bide its time, and with luck, the Thing could escape.

 **-0-**

Sabine snapped out of her trance, "It's loose. Burn them on sight! Burn them or we're done for!"

Ahsoka's hand shook as she yelled into the radio, "I'm on my way. Tell Delta to remain in position. If anyone sees Bravo, burn them! We can't let the Thing escape!"

"Yes, Commander. Syndulla out."

The five ran out of the garage towards the kitchen. Sabine carried her flamethrower while Ezra held flares and a couple sticks of dynamite. Both were still badly affected from the conditions and had to lean on the others to maintain a quick pace. Wedge had a flamethrower while Ahsoka and the other soldier carried their assault rifles. Bullets wouldn't kill the Thing, but they could distract it.

The five arrived at the kitchen and adjoining mess hall to see Delta taking positions. Hera, Kanan, and Alpha Team ran up, meeting the five outside the mess hall complex. A figure came limping from the Mess Hall, staggering from the door. He collapsed on his knees. Several soldiers surrounded him, but Sabine yelled out.

"Stay back! Don't touch him or I torch you!" Her tone broke no argument and the man looked up at them. Kanan recognized him, "It's Sergeant Caldwell! Bravo leader."

They got a better look at Caldwell, or what used to be Caldwell. The navy marines stumbled back in revulsion as they saw its hands. Caldwell's hands were scrunched up and furry, with four long claw-like pieces of red horn and bone replacing fingers. But Sabine and Ezra stood firm, Ezra kicked over a drum of used cooking oil, soaking the snow around the Thing, and lit a flare. "It isn't Caldwell."

 **-0-**

The Caldwell-Thing looked up. Damn this host body! It had sustained a bullet wound in the leg and couldn't escape. It was in no position to fight back either with its hands not fully formed. It looked up in hatred at those two. The Caldwell-Thing tried to move towards them, to make them suffer for killing its bretheren, but a close proximity shotgun blast slammed into it.

The one called Ezra held the flame stick in his hand. As he tossed it towards the flammable liquid on the snow, the Thing knew it was done for. It screamed. Screamed in rage and hatred at the ones called Sabine and Ezra as the flames consumed it.

 **-0-**

Ezra threw the flare onto the Thing. The Thing screamed, an unnatural, inhuman screech that made all the marines back away, as it was immolated by the fire.

Sabine said quietly, "It isn't over. We need to destroy them now."

Kanan was speechless, "What was that? My God, what was happening to him?"

Sabine answered, "That was one of those Things, Director Jarrus. If it had more time, it would have looked and sounded and acted exactly like him."

Ahsoka regained her composure and said, "Cover all exits. I want a flamethrower, blowtorch, or thermite on each. Alpha on me, we need to sweep this building, kill it now." The five-man Alpha team joined Ahsoka, Sabine, Ezra, Wedge, and the other soldier and they cautiously entered. They didn't need to wait long. Upon seeing an upright figure, Sabine immediately burned it. The being also screeched, another unnatural mewing. Alpha Leader Hendry threw a thermite charge at the Thing and it was burned to a cinder.

Sabine shut off the flamethrower, "Shoot first, ask questions later." They split up as they left the kitchen and entered the mess hall. One of Alpha team spotted a man's boots under the table and knelt to get a better look.

A scream alerted Ahsoka to the danger. She looked over to see the Alpha soldier disappear under the table and saw his buddy open fire. A tentacle shot out and pierced him through the chest. He convulsed as the Thing began to assimilate him. Hendry ran over to the squirming soldier, but Sabine pulled him back, "You fool! You can't help him anymore! Assimilation can't be prevented once it's got you!"

"But he's my friend! I've known him for 10 years, I can't just leave him!" Hendry threw her off and ran to the Alpha trooper pulling him away from the tentacle. But the newly created Thing attacked Hendry, transforming into a hideous beast. Hendry's screams resounded through the building, only intensifying when a stream of fire engulfed him and the Thing. Ahsoka looked over to see Sabine burn the Thing and Hendry without any emotion whatsoever. The Thing thrashed wildly and gave another inhuman roar as it convulsed in the heat of the flames. The clinking of a thermite grenade rolling across the floor signaled the Thing's end, consuming it in a blaze of white-hot fire.

A table was thrown to the side and another, even larger Thing jumped up. It lashed out with a tentacle, grabbing the other soldier from Wedge's squad. It pulled him towards its gaping mouth. The soldier screamed, but grabbed his sidearm and a flare. He ignited it amd pulled the trigger at the same time, burning and killing himself almost immediately.

Ahsoka opened fire with an M203 grenade launcher. The explosion knocked the Thing back and she saw Ezra throw a stick of dynamite at it. The Thing struck at him, hitting Ezra off his feet.

The second explosion greatly weakened the Thing, and it was quickly finished off by the two streams of fire from Sabine and Wedge.

As it quieted down, the group heard sobbing come from the corner. Wedge turned and recognized the person, a badly wounded member of Bravo Team. Sabine raised her flamethrower, but Ahsoka pushed it down, the soldier was bleeding badly from a mortal wound. "If he doesn't die from that, we'll know he isn't human."

Sabine nodded but still looked concerned, "Be careful."

Ahsoka knelt down, "What happened?"

The traumatised soldier responded, "Came in to sweep ki... kitchen. Found body... body wrapped in tentacles. Another was... was behind us. I op... op... opened f... fi... fire. Tentacles lashed out, grabbed Caldwell, pulled him into m... mou... gaping mouth, and grabbed others. I ran... ran here, was followed, fr... friends shot me. Heh. Ha-ha-hah-ha-ha." He started laughing uncontrolably, breaking down into choking sobs. The man had been shot through the chest and started gurgling from the internal bleeding.

Sabine sighed, "It must've been the remains of a Thing. A severed limb or even a finger could assimilate you."

Ahsoka stood, "He's dying, nothing we can do for him now." One of the Alpha soldiers delivered the _coup de grâce_ and Sabine dropped a flare on the dead body. Ahsoka turned to the smoldering remains of the Things. "Drop some thermite on this, I want nothing but ash remaining." It was then that they heard more gunfire.

 **-0-**

Meanwhile, Hera, Kanan, and Delta were waiting outside. They had heard gunfire and Hendry's screams, but they didn't go in. Ahsoka wanted them to remain outside and block any escape. A door flung open and they got their first good look at a living Thing in what could be its true form. The being was blue, with three red eyes that glowed with a hatred. It ran towards them, snarling and mewing. The rifle of the Bravo trooper it used to be, was in its hand and fired. The Delta soldiers dove for cover, but three bullets each found their mark on two soldiers. They fell dead. Out of ammo, the Thing changed its hand into a clawed tentacle and threw it out towards another Delta trooper, who opened fire. The bullets had almost no effect whatsoever.

It's red talons sank into the soldier, who screamed as the Thing ripped his armor and parka apart, shredding skin and drawing blood. He was saved when one of his comrades ignited a blowtorch and the Thing fell back from the three-foot lance of blue flame. Another blowtorch gurgled to life as Kanan ignited his. The two advanced on the Thing, which screeched in hatred and pain as the flames scorched the Thing's hide. Its hand transformed into sharp spikes, which crisped in the flames and fell off. Greasy smoke rose into the air as the Thing's limbs jerked and stiffened. The red eyes clouded over as the Thing fell to the ground, burning.

Hera turned to the injured soldier, "Everyone get away from him!" She had to be safe, this man could be assimilated by now. Hera had not believed Ahsoka initially, but now she knew it was true. "Quaratine him. I want at least one blowtorch on him until we know whether he's human or not."

A pair of handcuffs were strapped onto the soldier and he was placed in an ice dugout. Two other Delta soldiers guarded him. The door opened and everyone jumped at the noise, ready to fire. But it was Ahsoka and her team. They entered the building 10-strong, but only six came out. Ahsoka walked up to Hera, "Captain, we heard gunfire. Is everything all right? What happened?"

"One of those Things attacked us. We lost two men and it attacked another physically. He survived."

Sabine's face paled again, "Where is he?"

Hera's eyes flashed with relief upon seeing Sabine and Ezra, "Sabine? Ezra? Is that you?" They nodded and Hera continued, "We quarantined him. Multiple blowtorches on him. Is there any way we can know if he's human?"

"There are. Multiple ways in fact. But we need equipment for some. All ours was lost in the battle against the Thing."

Ezra continued, "It can't assimilate inorganic matter. Your soldier have dental fillings? Earrings? Jewelry?" Kanan shook his head and Sabine offered the other, "Kallus discovered a way to determine whether someone is human. The Thing is selfish, and every part is an individual. Blood in a test tube is a new Thing. It jumps away from a heated wire. Human blood doesn't."

Ezra finished, "Like Sabine said, all our medical and scientific equipment was lost. But we can't allow anyone to leave here without being proved as human. We need equipment flown in."

Kanan nodded, "I'll put in a call. A heli should be here soon."

He walked off to the helicopters and made the radio call. Meanwhile, all soldiers and personnel were split up, those who had dental fillings to one group, all others to another. Several hours later, a helicopter was heard over the antarctic horizon. It landed and two men stepped out and unloaded the equipment.

Ahsoka stepped into the middle of the two groups, "All right, listen up! By now, all of you know what demon we are up against. It killed all but two researchers at this station and has killed at least eleven of our soldiers and marines. The five from Bravo, two from Delta, three from Alpha, and one from Echo team. You may not know what's at stake, but if the Thing escapes the Antarctic, the world as we know it may be lost. More of you may have been assimilated by now, but Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger, the two survivors of this outpost, know how to prove whether you are human or not."

Ahsoka stepped aside and Sabine stepped forward, Ezra was heating a platinum wire with her flamethrower. Sabine addressed the assembled groups, "The Thing cannot assimilate inorganic matter. Therefore, those of you in this group," she indicated the group to the left, which included Hera and Ahsoka, "You are human. You on the right, are all under suspicion. The Thing is selfish. Yes, selfish is the word. It will act to preserve itself first and foremost. Any part of the Thing on its own will act as an individual and try to save itself. Therefore, its blood will recoil from a hot wire. A human's blood will do nothing."

She looked at the group on the right, which included Kanan and Wedge. "I will now prove I'm human." Sabine cut herself with a knife, and let some blood accumulate in a test tube. Ahsoka took the heated wire and dipped it into the blood. Nothing happened. Ezra repeated the process, and nothing happened for him. Sabine turned to the first in line, "Director Jarrus, you're up."

Hera held her breath as Sabine sterilized the knife and cut Kanan's arm. Ahsoka dipped the wire into the blood once, twice, thrice. She nodded, "Human, I'd say." Kanan walked over to Hera, who hugged and kissed him, relieved that her husband was human. Sabine then turned to the next after Ezra had sterilized the wire and knife, "Wedge, your turn."

Wedge was also human, and Sabine called over one of the men from Wedge's Echo squad. The blood was collected and Ahsoka dipped the wire into the blood as Sabine tightened and relaxed her grip on her flamethrower. The blood in the tube screamed as the wire was dipped into it and it retracted away from the wire. The assembled people stared in shock as the mini Thing in the test tube screamed in a tiny voice.

Sabine and Wedge swung their flamethrowers around as the Echo soldier's face faded then contorted into the three eyed visage of the Thing. It attacked one of the guards next to it, forcing Sabine and Wedge to burn both of them. A bullet from Hera punctured the tank of the blowtorch held by the unlucky guard, incinerating both him and the Thing in the explosion. Ezra dropped the mini Thing into the fires of the Things, burning it until nothing was left.

Luckily, the remaining men in the right group were human. All that was left was the soldier whom the earlier Bravo Thing had attacked. It's blood reacted violently and the Thing immediately launched itself at the guard, who managed to dive away and swing the blowtorch canister at its arm, knocking it out of the way and buying some time. By now, Sabine's flamethrower had run out of fuel, and Wedge was almost blank. Hera opened fire, shooting out the Thing's three eyes. It clawed at its blinded eyes. One of the Echo soldiers smashed an ice ax against its head, knocking it on the ground. The Thing lashed out with a tentacle, snagging the Echo soldier's leg. The Echo soldier frantically tore at his parka, ripping it off his body. The blinded Thing ripped at the parka, trying unsuccessfully to find flesh, flesh it could convert. Kanan advanced on the Thing, joining the guard in burning the Thing until it was a crisped blob on the snow.

 **-0-**

The next few hours were spent carrying the corpses into the burned remains of Outpost Fulcrum. Only Kallus' corpse was in decent condition, considering the events that led to his death, and a post mortem test proved he was still human. Kallus was to be taken back to the US and buried with full military honors. Sabine stood next to Ahsoka as this was carried out, "Commander, this place still needs to be destroyed. Not a speck of the Thing must be left alive. We need to napalm this base." Ahsoka nodded, "I'll talk to Hera."

Ahsoka walked over to Hera and Kanan, who greeted her, "Commander, all corpses have been placed in a central location. Kallus' remains have also been loaded. We can leave as soon as you give the word."

"Captain, we need to destroy the Outpost. Sabine wants it to be napalmed. Can you pull that off?"

Hera thought it over, "The nearest military base with that could be the Falkland Islands. I can put a call in."

Ahsoka nodded, "Yes, please do."

Hera walked over to the radio, "Falklands come in. This is RAF Captain Hera Syndulla. Come in Falklands."

A gruff male voice responded, "Err... this is Falklands HQ. Good to hear your voice Captain, you've spent too long at that US Base."

"Nice to hear you too, Captain Orellios. I need you to do a favor for me."

Captain Garazeb "Zeb" Orellios groaned, "Not another favor Hera. I was in hot water for weeks last time you requested a favor. What is it now?"

"I need to requisition a plane. A fighter. US Navy Commander Ahsoka Tano wants US Outpost 17 to be destroyed, with napalm or missiles."

"Napalm, huh. Why'd she want to bomb your own base?"

"Apparently, the personnel of this base discovered a crashed alien spacecraft and an extraterrestrial frozen in ice. It apparently broke free and killed all but two of them."

Zeb's roaring laughter was heard on the other side, "Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. You can't seriously expect me to believe that, Hera. You've been staring at snow and ice too long."

Hera grumbled and did her best to convince Zeb. But, Zeb was still somewhat unconvinced, "Okay Hera, here's what I'll do for you. There's a carrier, the _HMS Phoenix,_ nearby Halley delivering supplies. I'll have Admiral Sato dispatch a couple Harriers, but I need you to take full responsibility. You do realize this breaks the Antarctic Treaty."

"Alright Zeb, get your voice recorder. Commander Tano and I hereby take all responsibility for this action. We'll light the base, tell your pilots to destroy it completely."

Zeb signed off, "I'll send the order, Harriers should be there in a few hours."

Nearly 24 hours after the scout force had found the ruined base, Ahsoka, Sabine, and Ezra drenched the massive pile of human corpses and burned Things in aviation fuel siphoned from the helicopters. Ahsoka's radio clicked, it was Hera, "Commander, the Harriers have arrived and are in position."

"Roger that, Hera. We've finished up here, and will be out in a minute." She turned to Sabine, who held the signal flare. Sabine stared at the massive pile from the doorway, what remained of her friends and the alien that killed them. Her hand quivered as she ignited the flare and dropped it onto the floor. The flare instantly ignited the fuel on the ground and the command center was engulfed in the raging inferno.

Sabine felt a hand on her shoulder, it was Ezra, and they both gave the burning pile on last look as they turned and left the building.

Up on the glacier by the helicopters, they joined the remaining Hera, Kanan, Ahsoka, Wedge, and the eight surviving soldiers of the scout force. Sabine nodded and Hera put the radio to her mouth, "Fire."

The survivors watched in the darkening skies of the antarctic twilight as the two RAF Harriers unleashed missile after missile on Outpost 17. The explosions joined the inferno as the corpses of the Thing were blown to shreds. They watched until the last rocket had impacted. The only thing that remained were twisted shreds of blackened metal. Sabine turned away and boarded Hera and Ahsoka's helicopter as the Harrier's departed.

As the copters flew back towards McMurdo, Ahsoka watched the burning outpost until it disappeared from view. She turned to Sabine, who was cuddled up against the sleeping body of her boyfriend Ezra. Sabine simply said, "It's over. It's finally over. I never expected to survive, but we did."

Ahsoka went to sit next to her, and placed a blanket over both Sabine and Ezra, "What happened there? What caused the base to fall?"

Sabine sighed, "I guess it started a few days after you left. Mart, Jai, and Morad discovered a magnetic anomaly..."

 **Next Chapter: Sabine's story begins. The Thing is discovered and the crew begins to split.**

 **Update 3/13/18: Same as the last chapter, a few changed details and a few added scenes.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Anomoly

**Just an FYI, looking back at the first two chapters, I've realized that I kind of rushed through them. Now that I have the story planned out a little better, I will be editing them in the near future. Nothing incredibly major, just a few detail changes that I think will make them flow better with the rest of this story.**

 **I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

 _ **eye of sparta -** Glad you liked the last chapter. I hope you enjoy this one as well._

 _ **Guest -** I haven't completely sorted this story out, but I like the idea._ _How they would deal with that issue is the question._

 **US Navy Outpost 17 'Fulcrum', March 4, 1987**

US Navy Lieutenant Alexsandr Kallus groaned as he stretched. He was tired, like he was almost every morning. 'Morning' might not be the best term, as days in the antarctic were completely different than days spent at the Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. He had been assigned to the antarctic as a helicopter pilot and a search and rescue specialist, if one was needed. Kallus had lept at the chance. Antarctica was this new, unknown setting that would be interesting, maybe even fun. The first few weeks seemed to have shattered that idea. Antarctica was nothing but a frozen wasteland, but in time, Kallus had grown to appreciate the solitude of the base, and the company of the personnel made the bleak, windswept ice at least somewhat hospitable.

US Navy Outpost 17, codenamed 'Fulcrum', had 13 total personnel stationed there. There was himself and three other military personnel. The rest were civilians recruited for their various talents.

Kallus, at 32 years of age, was the second-in-command. The 38-year old commander of the expedition was an old Navy friend of his. Commander Ahsoka Tano was a seasoned naval officer who had once been the commander of the Arleigh Burke class destroyer Kallus was a helicopter pilot for. Ahsoka could be hard-as-nails, but also extremely sympathetic and caring at the same time. Everyone looked up to her and she was a natural-born leader. There were rumors that she had been present at an incident at the North Pole about 20 years earlier, but Ahsoka remained close-lipped on her past. Only her closest friends knew what had transpired at the North Pole, Kallus was one of them.

Commander Tano's and Outpost 17's Royal Air Force liason was Group Captain Hera Syndulla. Although technically higher in rank than Ahsoka, Hera always followed Ahsoka's orders and never complained. Hera was in her early 30s and often adopted the position of a mentor to several of the younger crewmen. Her husband, Kanan Jarrus, was the station commander at the nearby McMurdo Base. Hera's role at Outpost 17 was to relay scientific information to Royal Engineer Captain Garazeb 'Zeb' Orrelios at the Faulkland Islands.

The final military member of the outpost was a US Marine, Corporal Jyn Erso. Usually optimistic and rebellious, Jyn was the youngest crewmember, about 21 years old. Her position was the station's chief mechanic, maintaining all non-aviation equipment. She also maintained a good cache of weapons. Under the Antarctic Treaty, military activity was banned in the antarctic, as were firearms. But weapons were allowed on base for self defense, like Jyn's cache of handguns and rifles, or for scientific/non-aggressive purposes, like the cache of flamethrowers and thermite. Jyn's cache would become critical in the coming week. Kallus and Jyn had somewhat of an older brother-younger sister relationship, and her parents were also old friends of the station's chief biologist, Saw Guerrera. Over 50 years old, Saw could be ruthless in the pursuit of finding the answer to things. He was often cranky, but held a softer spot in his heart for Jyn. Saw was also a former soldier, but lost one of his legs to a land mine in Vietnam and required periodic use of an inhaler throughout the rest of his life. Kallus, like everybody, seemed to have a love-hate relationship with Saw. He could be kind and polite, or cranky and hopping mad.

The station's medic was Jai Kell, about 27 years old. Jai had a good sense of humor, and was kind with all of the station personnel. He even tried to flirt with Jyn a few times, only to be shut down. Kallus liked Jai, he reminded Kallus of himself when he was younger.

The crew's cook was Zare Leonis. He was a kind young man in his mid-20s. Zare had a strong moral compass and would play cards or other games with the rest of the crew when he was off shift. He also was the station's unofficial janitor and took more shares of the work than others. Kallus liked him for this reason, Zare would always do whatever was needed and was well liked by the rest of the crew.

Mart Mattin was an interesting character. Twenty five years old, headstrong, and single, the geologist was a bit of a wild card. Mart drank and absolutely hated the antarctic. The only thing that kept him there was his infatuation with the station's dog handler, Gooti Terez. Terez was a beautiful, flirtatious lady with 28 years of age under her belt. She did not come to the antarctic to be with Mart, which was what he thought. She was instead recruited to take care of the station's team of huskies. Her love for animals made Gooti a welcomed part of the crew.

Morad Sumar, a man in his early 40s, was the station's physicist. Sumar came to study the magnetism of the South Pole and other related areas. He was fascinated by the antarctic landscape and the effects of the South Pole. While somewhat of a loaner, Sumar often conversed with the crew and offered advice.

The station's radio operator was Ketsu Onyo, a young woman about 28 years old. She was once a police officer, but was discharged after taking a severe bullet wound to her abdomen in a drug raid three years prior. She had been recruited by a friend of hers, the station's civilian helicopter copilot/assisstant mechanic, Sabine Wren.

Sabine Wren, soon to play an extremely important role in the events of the next week. She grew up with a fascination of how vehicles worked and a love of art. She soon learned how to fly helicopters after working on them for a long time. Now 27, her art made life at Outpost 17 interesting and a little more colorful than the white and grey of outside. Her drawing of the aurora australis was prominently placed above the dinning table in the mess hall. Kallus had developed a close friendship with the younger woman, but not nearly close enough to challenge that of her fiance.

Sabine was recruited to be the station's copilot by her fiance, Ezra Bridger. Ezra was the station's 26-year old meteorologist with an intense connection with nature, but especially the sky. He had come to Antarctica to study the aurora, and had offered the remaining spot of a copilot to his fiance Sabine. The two of them often sat outside watching or painting/drawing the sky and landscape after shifts, spending the time together.

The crew were all very close-knit, knowing most details about other's lives. It seemed as though the base would endure another antarctic winter, then they would pack up and let the next expedition take over when they arrived.

However, the routine was broken on the morning of March 4th by an unscheduled radio call. Ketsu's voice resounded through the PA system, "Commander Tamo, Captain Syndulla, and Lieutenant Kallus, please report to the radio room."

The three officers filed into the radio room and Ketsu turned to them. She held out a piece of paper to Ahsoka. Ahsoka read it and gave a sigh. Kallus noticed this, "Something wrong, Commander?"

"It's a message from Kanan at McMurdo. He says that he needs me at McMurdo as soon as possible. He fell sick and wants me to take command for a few days."

Hera spoke up, "Do you mind if I join you, Commander? If Kanan is sick, I'd like to be with him." Ahsoka nodded, "Of course. We can also drop of these latest research reports and get some extra supplies." She turned to Ketsu, "Ketsu, can you get all station personnel to assemble in the rec room?"

Ketsu nodded and turned to the intercom, "All personnel, please report to the rec room at once. Repeat, report to the rec room at once." The four then moved through the hall towards the rec room.

Upon arrival, Ahsoka got up on one of the tables and addressed the group, "Everyone here? Good. I've been asked to take command of McMurdo station while their station commander recovers from illness. I may be there a couple days, maybe a couple weeks. Captain Syndulla will be going with me. In my absense, Lieutenant Kallus will be in charge. Any questions?"

Receiving none, Ahsoka stepped off the table and called Kallus and Sabine over, "Prep the chopper. I'd like to get there as soon as possible."

"Yes, Commander."

Less than an hour later, Outpost 17's Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk helicopter lifted off from the base with Sabine and Kallus at the controls. Ahsoka looked over her shoulder as the copter throttled skyward. She sighed.

Hera looked over at her, "Are you okay, Commander?"

Ahsoka shook her head, "I don't know. I feel that something bad is going to happen while I'm gone." Sabine shrugged from the cockpit, "Maybe. But Kallus will take good care of us while you're away." She turned to look at Kallus, "You will, won't you?"

Kallus chuckled, "No, I'll obviously destroy the base and let all of us freeze to death."

Ahsoka laughed, "You'd be getting a court martial for that. Not to mention I'd probably shoot you upon seeing you."

Kallus mocked surprise, "Shoot me? Your old navy friend of who knows how many years!"

Ahsoka groaned and lightly puched him in the back of the shoulder, "Thanks, but I can't help but say I have a bad feeling about this."

Late in the afternoon, Sabine and Kallus touched down back at base. Sabine was met by Ezra and the two walked off to the mess hall to get some food. Kallus was about to follow when he ran into Jyn, "Lieutenant, you got a minute? Sumar said he wanted to talk to you when you landed."

Kallus nodded, "Thanks Jyn. I'll head over."

Sumar was standing over a magnetometer when Kallus walked in. He turned and said, "Good afternoon, Lieutenant. Thanks for stopping by." He indicated a seat. Kallus took it, "Jyn said something about how you wanted to talk to me."

"I did. I've detected something strange, an anomoly."

Kallus was curious, "Strange? Strange how?"

Sumar chuckled, "I've detected a magnetic anomoly about 80 miles southwest of here. I can't explain what it is, but I know that there is something there. I'd like to request to scout it out using a snowcat."

Kallus thought about it for a moment, "I don't see why not. Who's going with you?"

Sumar pondered this, "I think I'll take Mart with me. He's a geologist, so he may help us figure out what's down there."

Kallus nodded, "Take Jai as well. If one of you gets hurt, it would help to have a medic with you. Let me know what you find, I'll fly down in the helicopter if needed."

Sumar nodded and shook Kallus' hand, "Thank you, Lieutenant. I'll let you know about anything we discover, if there is anything there."

Around 1800 hours, the snowcat set off with the three researchers. Mart, Jai, and Sumar arrived sometime after midnight and quickly set up a small camp. Sumar checked his magnetometer, "It should be right in this area. Get some sleep, we'll check it out tomorrow."

The next day at the base went like normal and passed without incident. Saw was cranky as usual, Jyn performed maintenance on her weapon cache, Sabine tinkered with the helicopter, and Ezra delivered a weather report to Kallus, showing possible signs of bad weather. Ketsu heard nothing from Sumar's expedition, and the crew went to sleep like normal.

But things were different down at the scout camp the next morning. Mart was driving the snowcat towards the disturbance with Jai and Sumar inside. Mart had just made a comment about how he still believed that Gooti was head-over-heels in love with him. Jai had thrown it back at Mart, saying that Saw had a better chance of going on a date with the Commander than Mart did with Gooti. Sumar burst out laughing and Mart had angrily swiped at Jai, who was too far into laughter to even care.

Recovering slightly, Sumar looked out the windshield, "Mart! STOP!" Distracted by Jai's remark, Mart had driven onto a patch of thin ice. He quickly tried to put the snowcat in reverse. The ice cracked and the snowcat barely avoided falling into a ravine. The three looked down and were startled by what they saw. A dark, long silhouette buried inside the blue ice.

At 1430 hours on March 6th, Ketsu called over the intercom, "Lieutenant Kallus, please report to the radio room. Sumar expedition has made contact."

Kallus walked into the radio room and Ketsu handed him the transmitter, Sumar was on the other line, "Lieutenant, we've found it."

"You found the disturbance? That's good. What was it?"

Sumar hesitated, "Err... I can't really explain it that well. It looks to be an aircraft of some kind, burried under the ice. Also, it's big. I'd say about over 250 feet long and 50 feet wide."

"So... a strange object?"

Sumar chuckled, "Yes, I guess so. We'll check it out further tomorrow and inform you of whatever it is we find."

Kallus thought about it, "Alright. Let me know what you find."

Sumar agreed, "Very well. Also, we kind of almost wrecked the snowcat."

Kallus raised an eyebrow at this, "You almost wrecked it? How?"

Jai's voice was heard from the other end, "We'll explain later. It's kind of a long story. Sumar group out."

Mart, Jai, and Sumar worked for hours into the darkening skies, digging through the ice, until they reached it. On the other side of an ice wall was the object. And it could only be one thing, _a spaceship._

Jai hefted his ice pick and slammed it into the wall. The wall splintered and fell away and there it was in a chamber under the antarctic ice. The heat from the craft's engines must have melted the ice upon impact, leaving a large chamber at least 100 feet underground. Jai whistled as he walked in, his flashlight lighting up the craft. Snow drifts were pilled here and there, indicating a blizzard when the ship had crashed. It was 250 feet long and about 50 feet wide. There appeared to be an access hatch on the side, but it was buried in more ice.

Mart walked towards the skin of the craft, it was as smooth and black as obsidian. He grabbed his file and tried scraping some of the metal off. It repelled the file, nothing would scrape the skin. Sumar grabbed his shoulder, "Lets get back to camp and get some sleep. I'll inform the others in the morning." Mart and Jai nodded and they rescaled the ice wall of the crevace.

 **-0-**

The Thing awakened when the ice pick had broke the chamber that trapped its ship for so long. And it heard them as they left the chamber. Finally, after several hundred thousand years of captivity, it was on the verge of being found. All it would take was some influencing of these creature's minds and it could be discovered, and eventually freed. It would find food again, and could spread across this forsaken world. For now, all it could do was wait, and imagine what fun it could have upon release.

 **Next Chapter: The Thing is unearthed, and the trouble begins to start.**


	4. Chapter 4: Recovery

**First two chapters have been fully updated! I haven't changed too much, just several details and added a few scenes. I highly recommend rereading them as the old version conflicts with my future plot (especially in the area of character deaths).**

 **Achilles453** I'm glad you liked the character profiles. The tattoo's a good idea, but I honestly believe that the Thing, which is smart enough to imitate an entire base and pit people against each other, would be smart enough to get a marker or something and recreate a tattoo. Also, I think that them not being able to know who's who immediately makes for a more suspenseful story.

 **Guest -** Like I said above, the tattoo idea's very good, but I believe them not being able to know if the other's a Thing makes more suspense. As for jewelry, I like it, but given how the Thing retains the host's memories, it would know about it and try to locate said jewelry.

 **US Outpost 17, 'Fulcrum', March 7, 1987**

Kallus walked into the kitchen, tired like he usually was in the morning, searching for some coffee. Zare was up and about, preparing breakfast for the remaining eight personnel on station. He looked up as Kallus entered, "Forgive me, Lieutenant, but you look like shit."

Kallus only chuckled as he sat down, "I feel like shit. Please tell me you've got some coffee ready."

Zare shook his head, "Nope. Coffee machine broke."

Kallus sank his head onto the table and slammed down his hand as he muttered, "You've got to be kidding me."

Zare laughed, "I am. Coffee's over there, help yourself."

Shaking his head, Kallus couldn't keep back the chuckle, "Damn you Leonis. What was it Commander Tano told you when you came here? Don't prank the commanding officers and don't mess with our morning coffee."

"Yeah, yeah I know. But where's the fun in that? Also for the record, I only prank you. I don't want to face Commander Tano when she's angry, again."

Kallus chuckled, remembering how scary Ahsoka could be when she was pranked. She hated to be pranked, something about an event in her past. Almost nobody knew what had happened in Ahsoka's past, only her closest friends and comrades. Kallus just happened to be one of those who had been told about the North Pole incident.

Kallus poured himself some coffee as Saw and Jyn walked in. Kallus nodded in recognition, "Morning Saw, Jyn. Want some coffee?"

Saw shook his head, "Thanks, Lieutenant, but I'm good." Zare was making the usual fare at the outpost: canned eggs, buiscuts, and pemmican. Gooti entered as Zare was placing the finished food on the table. A few minutes into eating, Kallus noticed the three empty spots, "I assume that Ms. Onyo's in the radio room, but where's Wren and Bridger?"

Jyn shrugged, "Last I saw, Sabine was headed out to the helicopter. Said she wanted to fix a mechanical issue or something. Ezra could have gone out to help her."

Gooti rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Or they might be out there for _other reasons._ "

Jyn shrugged again, "It isn't impossible. You guys remember when Ahsoka walked in on them, right?"

Saw chuckled, "Ah, the wonders of young love. You know those two remind me of her parents when they were younger." He said as he pointed at Jyn. Jyn's mouth fell open, "Saw! Damnit, now I'll have to deal with that image in my head all day."

Saw shrugged, "What? It's true. Oh hey, that reminds me of another story about Galen and Lyra." Jyn groaned in aggravation as Kallus rose to the wall intercom, "Ketsu, we're eating breakfast right now. You want to come here or should one of us bring you something?"

Ketsu's voice responded, "I'd like it here, if you don't mind. Thanks for the offer. Same as usual?"

Kallus chuckled, "What else? I'll be there in five. Oh hey, also can you radio the helicopter? See if Wren and Bridger are there."

"Will do. Out."

 **-0-**

Coated in engine grease, Sabine and Ezra had finished plugging the fuel leak in the helicopter and were enjoying a more intimate makeout session when the radio beeped.

"Damn it." She swore, pulling out of the kiss with Ezra to grab the transmitter, "Everytime we try to get some time alone, we get interrupted!" Ezra chuckled, "Well what did you expect in a small outpost with no privacy in the middle of the antarctic."

Sabine rolled her eyes and punched him lightly in the shoulder, "Well, who was it that convinced me to come here?", but she still smiled nonetheless. She turned on the radio, "What is it Ketsu?"

"So you are in the helicopter after all. Where's Ezra? You two are missing breakfast."

Sabine looked at the instrument panel. They couldn't have spent that long in the Seahawk! She sighed as she saw the time. "Okay, thanks for the reminder. Ezra and I just finished repairing a fuel leak in the copter. We'll be there in a minute."

In the radio room, Ketsu smirked to herself, " _Sure you were_. How long were you two snogging?"

Sabine's eyes widened and she sputtered to respond, "What! No! We weren't, well..." she sighed and slammed her hand on the bulkhead, "maybe a little." Ketsu laughed and Sabine angrily shot back, "I swear you have a smutty mind, Ket."

"Maybe I do, Sabine. Just get back in here before I go announcing this to the others."

Ketsu smiled to herself as Sabine grumbled in exasperation before ending the connection. After a minute, she turned to the intercom and announced, "They're on their way. Apparently there was a fuel leak in the helicopter."

In the mess hall, Jyn rolled her eyes as Gooti laughed, "I wonder what _fuel_ was leaking in that helicopter."

Sabine angrily answered from the doorway, "I don't know if you know what aviation fuel is but that was the only thing that was leaking!" She then stormed over to the sink to wash up. Sabine had engine grease smudged on her face and hands.

Ezra walked in behind her and noticed the amused faces of his coworkers. "What are you all looking at me for?"

An exasperated Sabine answered as she took her place at the table, "Our coworkers have smutty minds, that's what."

Kallus laughed as he left the mess hall for the radio room with Ketsu's breakfast. He walked in to see her scribbling down a message. "Something wrong?"

"Garbled message from McMurdo. Ezra was right, there's a blizzard moving in and we'll be out of touch for a while." Ketsu turned and graciously accepted the breakfast, "I can't say I'll be sad when we leave for home. Zare's a nice guy and a good cook, but a person can only last for so long on eggs and pemmican."

Kallus chuckled, "I know what you mean. Have you heard anything from Sumar's group?"

"Nope, but I'll let you know if I hear anything."

Kallus nodded, "Thanks."

Twenty minutes later, the ping pong championship between Saw and Ezra was interrupted by Ketsu calling over the intercom, "Lieutenant Kallus, report to the radio room. The Sumar expedition has made contact."

Kallus made his way into the radio room and Ketsu turned on the speaker, "Sumar, what do you have to report?"

Sumar's voice was hesitant and awestruck, "Lieutenant, I can't say this any other way, but we seem to have found an alien spacecraft."

Ketsu's eyes widened, "An _alien spacecraft_? Is that possible?"

Kallus calmly said, "I'll believe it." Ketsu looked at him incredulously and he shrugged, "What? If you were an naval aviator, you'd be more inclined to believe this. Ask Commander Tano about the North Pole Incident, she probably won't tell you, but that's the reason I'll believe Sumar's claim."

Sabine asked from the doorway, "What's the North Pole Incident?"

Kallus turned, "I wasn't there, but Commander Tano was and all I can say is she doesn't like to talk about it. What I can tell you is that it happened about twenty years ago and had something to do with an extraterrestrial."

Kallus turned back to the radio, "Sumar, are you sure?"

80 miles to the south, Sumar responded, "Yes, it's in a cravice on the side of a mountain. Our working theory is that it crashed here many years ago. Mart, Jai, and I will need some support to finish unearthing it."

Kallus nodded, "So you want me to come down with some help in the Seahawk?"

"Yes, if it isn't too much of a hassle."

Kallus thought it over, "Not at all. The weather is supposed to get worse in the next few days so we'll have to move soon. I'll take a few with me this afternoon. We'll be there by... oh about 1700. Give me the coordinates."

Sumar gave his agreement, "I'll be expecting you. Here are the coordinates."

A few minutes later, Kallus, Sabine, and Ketsu entered the rec room. Kallus moved to the head of the ping pong table and said, "Everyone listen up. Sumar's crew has reported in and they've found something in the ice. I plan to take the chopper down with a few of you. and support them. Sabine, is the chopper flightworthy?" She nodded, "Despite popular belief, there _was_ a fuel leak this morning," she glared at the rest of the crew who were suppressing laughter, "but we managed to fix it."

Kallus nodded, "Ezra, can we take a flight in this weather? I want a forecast for the next few days, stat." Ezra nodded and ran over to the map room to make his forecast.

Kallus turned to the rest of the crew, "I want a few of you to stay here. Ketsu, you stay and monitor the radio for any more news from McMurdo." She nodded and returned to the radio room.

Kallus thought it over, "Zare and Gooti, you stay here as well." He turned to the only other on-station military person at the outpost, "Jyn, pack the thermite. I have a feeling we'll need it." Jyn nodded and turned to head for the weapons locker.

Kallus continued, "Bridger and Saw, you will accompany me, Jyn, and Sabine. Pack your gear. We leave at 1400 hours."

 **Hundreds of Thousands of Years Earlier**

The crew of the spaceship lifted off from the jungle world. They were in high spirits. Very high spirits. And the cause was that creature in the hold. A truly interesting specimen, and it was the crowning achievement of this biological expedition. The aliens had one more stop on their journey: the third planet in a system of eight. The planet was promising, it had various climates and multiple species.

But of course, things fell apart. The creature in the back morphed, _it morphed_ into a mass of tentacles and escaped the cage it was restrained in. The first of the crew fell to it and the Thing imitated them. In a desperate attempt to capture it, the crew of the spacecraft tried to lure it out. They tought they had killed it when the Thing revealed itself to be one of their own.

The alien pilot heard the cries, and quickly sealed the cockpit door. The Thing would not get through. There was a pounding on the cockpit door. The pilot turned to the camera: it was the commander of the ship. He refused to open the door even for the commander.

But the pilot soon stared in horror as the Thing entered through the vents in a mass of tentacles. They morphed into a blue creature with three red eyes. It sprouted several more tentacles and attacked. The pilot tried to throw it off balance, pitching the ship this way and that, and sent out a distress signal. The pilot felt a tentacle pierce his back as he flew the craft towards a snowy mountain. If he would die, the Thing would die too.

The pilot turned to smirk, but the Thing was gone. The pilot screamed in rage as the ship impacted with the granite.

 **March 9, 1987**

Ketsu, Gooti, and Zare watched as the Seahawk touched back down at Outpost 17. Mart, Jai, and Sumar got out and the helicopter lifted back up. Ketsu walked up to Sumar, "Where're they going? Where's the rest of the crew?"

Sumar answered, "Back at the line camp. The snowcat was destroyed and Kallus believed making two trips was safer than one."

Zare chimed in, "Destroyed?!? What do you mean it got destroyed?"

Jai sighed, "We'll tell you when they get back."

They seemed content with this answer, and two hours later the chopper touched back down. Saw, Jyn, Ezra, Sabine, and Kallus came into the base dragging a large block of ice, covered by a tarp, behind them. They hoisted it onto a table in the ad building and Kallus called everyone together. Slowly, his eyes traced around the ring of people crammed into the ad building. The only sound was the slow, methodical dripping of the block bound in cords and tarpaulins.

Kallus broke the silence, his voice low, yet filled with authority, "Eleven, all here. The eight of us who went in support of the Sumar expedition know the story, but I guess I'd better clue you others in on what happened. There is a difference of opinion, and seeing how this'll affect all of us, it's only fair that we come to a group consensus.

"Almost 80 miles to the south of here, there is an ice-drowned ridge of mountains. Made of unshakeable granite, they halt the ice creeping up from the south. Sumar camped there, dug into the blue ice of the surface to escape the wind that howls down the mountains over the plateau towards the sea.

"It was frozen there for at least 100,000 years, maybe more. It came from space, driven by forces we have yet to comprehend, when something went wrong. Bridger believes that it tangled with Earth's magnetic field. Others believe there was some catastrophic accident. However it happened, the craft smashed into solid granite head-on.

"The Sumar expedition discovered it when their snowcat fell into a crevice. It was buried there in the ice, at least 280 feet long and 45 feet in diameter. It almost looked like a submarine without the conning tower and external control surfaces. The engines created a chamber upon crashing and there were snowdrifts, indicating a blizzard at the time of the crash. Not all aboard died, one got out and stumbled away from the crash. In the raging storm, it was lost and frozen in 10 paces. When we dug down to view the side of the craft, Bridger's ice-ax lodged itself in the creature's skull. When Saw and Jai came down, we cut the creature out in a block of ice." He gestured to the block on the table.

"We reached the side of the craft, and the skin of the ship was nothing we'd ever seen. The magnesium hull was black and smooth as obsidian, and it would not scratch on any of our tools. It even repelled acid from the snowcat battery.

"We found an access hatch on the side, it was partially open and jammed with ice. We cut around it, but were unable to open the door. We had dynamite and thermite charges. Dynamite might have broken important things, but thermite would loosen the ice. Jyn and I placed a twenty-five pound thermite charge, wired it, and retreated to the top of the ridge to the line camp. 250 yards from the zone, Jyn set it off." Kallus stepped back and Jyn came forward.

Jyn continued the narrative, "The thermite ignited the hull, which we believed to be some sort of magnesium. The glow of the bomb flared, then died, but it soon flared back up even more. We ran back to the helicopter. The entire icefield was illuminated by blinding light, with the silhouette of the spaceship a dark shadow pointing to the north. Briefly, we saw several more shadows that could have been other passengers, frozen in place, before the ice came crashing down.

"But the blaze still burned. We saw great, black hunched bulks glowing. We knew they were the engines. They glowed with a furious incandescence for a while before exploding. In mere moment, we saw secrets going in a blazing glory. Secrets that could have given man the stars. Great bolts of electric blue shot through the mushroom cloud that rose into the sky. The only reason we survived was because of the geography. The wind blew most of the superheated gasses away from us towards the ocean, or we would have had the skin cooked off our bones right then and there. Ezra's ice-ax got red hot and hissed on the ice. The snowcat, still on the edge of the crevice, was a molten, smoldering ruin. We were lucky that the helicopter was out of range. The ice poured down then, smashing into the ship and quelling the blaze. It squealed like dry ice, before all we heard was the wind blowing about us."

Kallus finished the narrative, "We were there for hours, groping around in the dark. Once our vision returned, we found out that the radio in the helicopter was useless. We were barely able to get the copter started. Once we did, we came here as soon as possible."

Kallus paused and gestured to the thing on the table, "I guess that is the story of that."

 **Next chapter:** The debate between Ezra and Saw becomes rather heated.


	5. Chapter 5: Weird and Pissed Off

**Oh hey everybody, just a heads up that this chapter marks the beginning of the er... more intense section. Basically, the shit is about to hit the fan. I'm going to do my best to keep this rated T, but I might have to update the rating to M.**

 **Other than that, I hope you all like this chapter! Read and Review.**

 **Achilles453 -** I'm glad you liked the chapter and understood the reasoning behind me not including any tattoos. I tried to throw in some crew chemistry there in the beginning, kind of the calm before the storm. I'm also happy you liked the part about the crew of the alien spaceship. It was actually added in as an minor detail, but I'm glad people liked it. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

 **teresa. spanics -** Thank you! I'm glad you love this story and my description of what happened to the spacecraft. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

 **US Outpost 17, March 9, 1987** , **1815 Hours**

Saw stirred uneasily, pulling back the tarp to reveal a piece of the dark ice. He looked at it impatiently before replacing the tarp. Kallus looked at him and Ezra, who was glowering at the block. "The problem is them. Bridger and Saw have a disagreement on what to do with it. Saw wants to thaw it out and examine it, look at its tissue and stuff like that. But Bridger here doesn't believe it's safe. He believes we may release a space plague, one that we have no defense against. But Saw says that Bridger has the case reversed, that our biology would be harmful to its microbiology. Bridger is a meteorologist after all, not a biologist, and Jai pretty much agrees with Saw. I'll let them make their case."

Kallus stepped back, and Saw looked up, "Its biological composition is completely different than ours. The thing is not Earthly. It is not likely that its biology would be enough like ours to make infection of us possible. I would say that there is no danger."

Saw looked over to Jai, who shook his head, "None whatever," he claimed confidently. "Man cannot infect or be infected by germs that live in snakes. And I assure you, snakes are much closer to us than that thing."

Ezra launched forward angrily, "Different biology!" He snorted, "That thing may or may not be dead, but I don't like it. Damn it Saw, let them see the foul thing and decide for themselves whether they want that thing thawed out in this camp! Speaking of thawing, who'd watch it tonight? Zare? You're always up late at night and awake early, you feel like watching that?" Zare shrugged and Ezra turned to Saw, "Why don't you unwrap it, Saw? Let them see what they're dealing with! They haven't seen those three red eyes, and the blue hair like wriggling tentacles. It's wriggling there in the ice right now! It was still covered in snow when we pulled it out, but that snow's melted! They haven't seen it. I sat next to it on the helicopter and I swear, it was looking up at me through the tarp! As if it knew I was there!"

He turned around to glare at the tarp-covered block, "It's mad, it must be. It was pissed off when it came out of that ship; even more so once it started to freeze! I fell asleep in the helicopter on the flight back and I had a dream, an incredibly bad dream that it would thaw out and come to life! It came to life and hunted and killed us all! One by one! That it isn't dead, it's just been waiting for several hundred thousand years for someone to find it."

Ezra took a deep breath and calmed down slightly, "I know, I know that this is all based in psychology, not science. But, you'll have nightmares for a year to come. Once I looked at that thing I had them. That it would come alive was not all, in my dream, I saw that it can change its shape, and look like a man, waiting to kill and eat us all! That's why I hate it and don't want it around. Burn it now! Or put it back where it came from and let it freeze for another hundred thousand years!"

Saw looked up and smirked at him, "So far, the only thing you've said that it gives off are dreams. And I'll go so far to say that I've had one as well. Who else has?" Jai, Kallus, Jyn, and Sabine raised their hands and Saw continued, "So it's dream-infectious. That's obviously an incredibly dangerous malady." The rest of the crew gave off a chuckle of amusement. Saw continued, "What you propose is not only the wrong choice but also completely ludicrous. Never again will there be a find like this! Its race must have died off in the hundreds of thousands of years that it lay frozen. If we destroy it now, we will lose an incredibly important scientific discovery. There is only one course of action we can take: we must slowly and carefully thaw it out and then study it."

Kallus looked at Saw and Jai, "Are you sure that it is safe? 100 percent?" They nodded and Kallus shrugged, "I believe Saw is right. What say you everyone?"

Zare stepped up, "It sounds right to us. But Saw, if I'm going to be watching that tonight, I'd like to know what it looks like. Let's see-"

Zare wasn't able to finish; Saw was eagerly stripping away the cords. A single throw of the tarpaulin revealed the Thing. The ice had melted somewhat and was as clear as glass. The crew who recovered it hadn't gotten a clear look at it yet, and the ones who remained on-base hadn't seen it at all.

The room stiffened abruptly. It was face up on the table, the broken ice-ax still buried in its skull. Greenish gunk that looked like squashed caterpillar oozed from the wound. Three mad, hate-filled eyes blazed up with a hateful, living fire, bright as freshly spilled blood from a face ringed with a writhing nest of tentacles. Blue, cilia-like tentacles that wriggled where hair should grow. Ketsu gasped and stumbled out of the room, Gooti ran to the trash can and puked out what she had had for lunch. Six others: Jyn, Jai, Sumar, Sabine, Zare, and Mart stumbled back from the table. Ezra remained planted at the foot of the table, smoldering with anger at Saw as Saw produced a hammer and chisel and began hammering. The ice broke and fell onto the floor as it was slowly peeled from the Thing that it had encased for over a hundred thousand years.

 **-0-**

The celebration was in full swing, celebrating what could be the most important scientific find in the history of mankind. Saw had chipped off some of the ice, but had taken a break to join the party. Kallus was sitting on the rec room couch, drinking some of the station's supply of J & B scotch as he told some of his old stories as a helicopter pilot for the US Navy. Jyn was, as usual, performing maintenance on something. This time, it was the coffee maker. The other crewmembers were just having a good time. It wasn't often that they got to throw a celebration, so they enjoyed this one.

Everyone, that is, except Ezra Bridger. Ezra remained in the Ad Building glaring at the block of ice with hatred. Sabine walked in and put a hand on his shoulder, "Hey, Ez, come on. I know you don't like this thing, but give it up. I'm sure Saw knows what he's doing. Even Jai said there is no danger whatsoever."

Ezra sighed and his shoulders deflated, "I know. I just... I just have a horrible feeling. A premonition almost. A premonition that things are going to go wrong, horribly wrong. I just..." he threw his hands in the air, "I just know it."

Sabine cupped the side of his face with her hand and moved his head so he faced her, "Hey. If it does, we'll face it together." She kissed him: slowly, tenderly, lovingly. "Come on." She said, breaking the kiss, "Let's join the others. So they don't get any _ideas_ this time." Ezra chuckled and they walked back towards the rec room hand in hand.

They didn't hear the low growl coming from the Thing in the ice behind them.

 **-0-**

Meanwhile, a somewhat drunk Kallus half-stumbled over to Saw and said, "Hey, Saw, what can you tell me about that thing in the ice."

Saw turned to look at Kallus and smiled at seeing him inebriated, "Lieutenant, what would Commander Tano say if she saw you like this?"

Kallus near crashed into his seat, drinking some more, "Ah well, she ain't here now is she?"

Saw chuckled, "I guess not. Well, Lieutenant, in response to your first question, I can't say much yet. We need to thaw it out slowly and extremely carefully. There never was a find like this and there never will be again. It has to be done exactly right. Look, you remember the fish we caught down near the Ross Sea at McMurdo, right? Well, do you remember how they would freeze immediately after we pulled them from the ocean? They would freeze, then come to life again if we thawed them gently. Low forms of life aren't killed by quick freezing and slow thawing."

Ezra angrily cut Saw off, "Wait. You mean that thing might actually come alive!" He grabbed a nearby ice-ax and ran towards the Ad Building. Arriving, he hefted the ice-ax and yelled, "This thing's going to be in so many pieces!"

Saw ran after him, "No, you fool!" He grabbed the ice-ax handle and a short scuffle ensued between the two of them. Ezra punched Saw in the side of the head, but crumpled when Saw delivered a kick between the legs with his prosthetic leg. The two had to be physically separated and Sabine slapped Ezra across the face, "Calm down, Ezra! You and Saw almost killed each other."

Saw shook off Jyn and Zare, who were restraining him, "You didn't let me finish. I said only low life forms would come back to life after quick freezing. A fish can do that because it is a low life form. It's cells revive and that is enough for it to revive the entire organism. That would not happen with a man, or that." He pointed to the thing in the ice, "I assure you, that thing is dead. It's dead! It is as dead as a frozen man would be because it is at least as high a life form or higher than us. While it's cells may revive, they'll die because a high life form requires organization and a cooperative effort to live."

Ezra stumbled back to his feet. "How do you know?" he spat out with venom.

Kallus, still somewhat inebriated, stepped forward and put a restraining hand on Ezra's shoulder, "Wait a minute Bridger. I agree that we should not thaw this out if there is even a remote chance of it coming alive. Can you give us a guarantee, Saw?"

Saw straightened and looked directly in Ezra's eyes, "The point is that, a few individual cells might exhibit characteristics of life, but it is still dead. When you kill a frog for instance, its muscle cells remain alive. That's why it spasms after you kill it. Just because a few cells live, you wouldn't accuse that frog corpse of being a zombie." A general murmur of agreement swept through the room and Saw continued, "If I thaw it right, I may be able to discern what type of planet it's native to. And you, Ezra," he turned and pointed at the meteorologist, "you accuse it of being evil. Just because it doesn't look like a man or anything on the Earth doesn't give you the right to accuse it of being evil or hateful. That look on its face may be one of resignation. Different cultures here on Earth have different customs, so why can't that thing have its own facial expressions. On its own world it would probably call you a fish bellied monstrosity with an insufficient number of eyes and a pale body bloated with gas."

Ezra near exploded, "Peaceful resignation! Haw! If that's resigned, then I'd hate to see what it looked like when it was angry. That face was never designed to express peace. Maybe things from other worlds don't have to be evil just because they're different, but that thing was! A Child of Nature, you say? Well, wherever that thing came from was hell!"

Saw took a step towards Ezra, "You haven't any right to call it evil! You don't need to worry, it's dead and it will stay dead."

Saw won out, he was completely convinced that it would stay dead and managed to convince the others. Ezra eventually gave up and just sat at the station's bar, drinking the night away.

 **-0-**

It was around midnight when the decision was made to move the block from the Ad Building to the nearby supply room. Most of the crew had gone to sleep, but a few remained awake. Sabine and Zare carried it to the room. The block had been covered by a blanket and placed in the middle of the room. Sabine pulled back the blanket and looked at the three blood red eyes leering up at her. She shuddered and replaced the blanket, "I agree with Ezra. We should just burn this."

Zare shrugged, "That's going to win someone the Nobel Prize. We can't just burn the Nobel Prize."

Sabine turned to Zare, "Let's lock up. You got the keys?"

Zare shook his head, "No, I think Kallus has them. Get from him, will ya?" She nodded and left.

While waiting, Zare looked over at the thing in the ice. He realized he had an interesting desire to get a barrel of kerosene and burn it. He removed the blanket and stared at the eyes. The three red eyes glared up at him sightlessly, the ruby orbs reflecting his face. He realized he had been staring at it for some time and turned to wait for Sabine at the door, but a low growl pulled him back. There were no dogs in this part of the base and he'd never heard pipes make that kind of sound before. He looked at the ice, there were small cracks forming under it. He couldn't be sure, but they looked to be growing. Almost as if the Thing was trying to break out. But Saw said it was dead! He nervously turned back to the door, hoping the cracks were a figment of his imagination and that low growling sound was the pipes or the wind outside.

 ** _CRASH!_**

The ice exploded upwards and outwards and Zare felt a large, solid, and cold chunk of ice hit him in the back of the head.

 **-0-**

Sabine had heard the crash. At first she thought that Zare had accidentally knocked something over. She walked towards the supply room, "It's late and cold Zare, I gotta get some sleep." She heard no response and cautiously approached the doorway, "Zare? Holy shit!" She jumped backwards, the keys falling to the floor with a clink.

The Thing was gone. It was _GONE!_ The block of ice had a gaping cavity in it, as if the Thing had broken out from inside. Zare lay unconscious on the floor with a large bruise on the back of his head. A shattered block of ice surrounded his head like a halo.

A shrill howl resounded through the room, the huskies were snarling at something. Sabine ran to the fire alarm, broke the protective glass, pulled the lever and ran toward the kennel.

On her way to the kennel, Sabine ran into Kallus, who was also headed towards the kennel. She looked at him questioningly, "Should you be holding a shotgun? Weren't you completely drunk like about an hour ago?" Kallus held two of the station's 12 gauge Mossberg 590A1 shotguns. He tossed one to her, "I sober up quickly."

Ketsu joined up with them, "What's going on?" Kallus shrugged, "We're about to find out." he said as they entered the kennel. Gooti, pale as a ghost, came stumbling towards them, "I don't know what's in there, but whatever it is, it's weird and pissed off."

Kallus held up a hand, the signal to stop, "Ketsu, get Jyn. Tell her to get the flamethrower." She nodded and ran towards the sleeping quarters.

In the sleeping quarters, there was pandemonium. Jai came stumbling out of his room, "Hey, what's this? What's going on?" Similarly, Sumar, still half-asleep, said, "What the hell's going on?"

The howl answered their questions and Jai quietly remarked, "I think the problem's been located." They quickly stumbled to get dressed. Grabbing the fire extinguishers, they ran towards the auxiliary entrance near the kennel.

Ketsu ran into Jyn's room, who was still putting on her clothes, "Jyn, Kallus wants the flamethrower." She turned, astonished, "Kallus wants the what?" Ketsu just shook her head and yelled, "That's what he said, now move!" Before Jyn could say anything else, Ketsu ran out towards the kennels.

"Damn it!" Jyn threw on the rest of her clothes and ran towards the weapons locker. She pulled out one of the station's M2A1-7 flamethrower and slightly depressed the trigger. A small bit of flame protruded from the end of the nozzle.

 **-0-**

 **A Few Minutes Earlier...**

The Thing stumbled through the base. Damn this planet, it was still frozen. At least it was nice and warm in this outpost. It stumbled it's way through the corridors, hoping to avoid detection. The one in the supply room where it had broken free was easy to deal with. All it took was a block of ice, but even it would have trouble with over ten of this new type of creature. It could escape this frozen wasteland, if it escaped detection from these creatures.

No such luck.

One of the huskies sensed it and started howling. The Thing looked over at the wire enclosed kennel, it could increase its body mass and become more formidable. The Thing morphed into a bunch of tentacles and opened the door. Charnauk, the lead huskie, rushed forward and bit out a large chunk of the tentacle, but squealed in pain as the alien's flesh began clawing at the inside of the huskie's mouth.

 **-0-**

Outside in the hallway, Gooti heard the furious series of barks and yelps. She turned into the kennel hallway and peered into the room. She tried turning on the light, but it had been smashed. It was then that she heard it, a low snarling that was nothing like the dogs. She grabbed a flashlight and carefully opened the door of the kennel. Two of the dogs bowled her over and the flashlight fell to the floor. One of them had the remains of a tentacle in its jaws. The beam of light rested on the inside of the kennel and she saw it. A thing like no other. Several tentacles came at her and she quickly kicked the door shut. It slammed on one of the tentacles, shearing it off. The piece of monster flesh wriggled on the floor.

Gooti got on her feet and made a hasty retreat to where she saw Kallus, Sabine, and Ketsu coming through the door. "I don't know what's in there, but whatever it is, it's weird and pissed off."

Kallus sent Ketsu to get Jyn, then the three advanced slowly, shotguns at the ready, towards the kennel. From the opposite end of the corridor, Jai, Mart, Saw, Sumar, Ezra, and Ketsu came in holding fire extinguishers. Jai saw Kallus and Sabine armed and yelled, "Hey, Kallus! What's going on?" A shrill yelp from one of the huskies still in the kennel silenced them.

Kallus held a hand up, "Stay back." He grimly pushed forwards, opening the doors to the kennel and throwing the beam of the flashlight around the inside. The beam rested on the Thing and the eyes of everyone widened. In the middle of the kennel was the Thing, but it looked different. A head turned to look at them, the furless head of a dog on top of a mass of biomatter. Multiple tentacles spread out from its base towards the two surving trapped huskies. One of the dogs whined from the corner, covered in some kind of greenish slime, as it was grabbed by the tentacles. The Thing roared, an unearthly, blood-curdling scream. Kallus leveled his shotgun and fired repeatedly. Sabine joined in with her shotgun and pulled the trigger, sending round after round of buckshot into the Thing. But the gunfire had almost no effect, only slightly knocking the Thing backwards. An errant shot slammed into one of the dogs, who yelped despite being slowly strangled by tentacles and Gooti grabbed Sabine, pulling her away from the kennel. She screamed in horror as she saw over half of her huskies dying before her.

A tentacle shot out at Kallus and he quickly slammed the door of the kennel. By now, Jyn had gotten the flamethrower and was running through the corridor towards them. The kennel-Thing sprouted two dog-like limbs that punched through the ceiling. Half of the kennel-Thing separated and pulled itself through the roof into the cold wind of the Antarctic.

Jyn froze at the sight of the half-dissolved dogs being slaughtered like this. Kallus saw her gaping, wide-eyed, at the battle in the kennel and yelled, "Get your ass over here!" He threw open the gate and Jyn stepped into the open doorway, flamethrower leveled. The remaining mass of the Thing split open and a flesh-like flower of dog teeth appeared. Kallus yelled at Jyn, "Dammit Jyn, torch it!" The flower threw itself at her and Jyn pulled the trigger. The jet of broiling flame shot from the end into the flower, causing it to burst into flames immediately. It fell limp and Jyn pulled the trigger again, immolating the rest of the kennel-Thing's body mass.

Kallus held out his arm before yelling, "GO!" Jai, Ketsu, and Ezra ran into the kennel and sprayed the contents of their fire extinguishers on the smoldering thing on the floor. They all stared at it in stunned silence before Sabine grimly said, "Half of it's still running around."

Kallus nodded, "Right. Everyone, group up! Sweep the base and find it. Take a can of fuel and a flare with you! We can't let it escape!"

 **Next Chapter: Search and Autopsies**


	6. Chapter 6: Saw Makes His Choice

**WARNING: CHARACTER DEATH**

 **Author's Note: Not everyone is human. After this chapter, let me know who you think is a Thing. You may be right!**

 **Achilles453 -** I'm glad you liked the last chapter! Yeah, I borrowed some lines from the novella "Who Goes There?" for Saw's reasoning. I totally agree with you on the dogs. It's actually my least favorite scene in the movie and it hurt to do this to the dogs, but it's an important plot point later on. I'm sorry, but it was a necessary evil.

 **teresa. spanics -** Thank you, I'm happy you loved the last chapter! Yeah, I think there was a scene in the 2011 prequel movie that showed how the Thing was a part of the spacecraft's cargo and that it broke free. Sadly, it was cut from the movie. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

 **Exterior US Oupost 17, March 10, 1987 0045 hours**

The ten other people in the kennel turned to Kallus, who gave out the orders, "Jai, I want you to stay here and take a look at that bruise on Zare. Gooti, round up those remaining dogs and dope them. Then return here and guard this." They nodded and Kallus looked at the seven others, "Alright, split into teams of two. Sabine and Ezra, search the garage. Jyn, you and Ketsu search the west side of the base. Saw and I will search the east side if the base. Sumar and Mart, search the outlying buildings: the food cache, the tool shed, and my shack. If you find it, engage immediately."

They turned to leave and saw the severed tentacle. It was wriggling across the floor, hoping to find some cover. Jyn didn't let it, shooting it with a short burst of flame. The tentacle let out a tiny scream as it spasmed in the flames. Kallus raised an eyebrow, "Interesting."

They filed out of the base, flashlights lit and weapons prepped. Sabine and Kallus carried shotguns and flares, Ezra, Ketsu, and Saw held fire extinguishers, Jyn hefted the flamethrower, and Mart and Sumar held flares and buckets of kerosene. Sabine and Ezra walked towards the garage, which stood independent from the main building. Slowly, they entered, keeping their weapons raised. The helicopter outside was empty, and the snowcats inside were intact. Sabine sighed, "Well, wherever it went, it isn't here."

Meanwhile, Kallus and Saw searched along the east side of the base. There was nothing in the snow, no prints, no remains, nothing. Kallus turned to Saw, "What was that thing doing to those dogs?" Saw deflated a little, "I... I don't know. We don't have time to talk about it now though. I'll be able to tell you once we've killed the other one and I can conduct an autopsy." Kallus nodded.

Then they heard the scream.

 **-0-**

Mart and Sumar had checked Kallus' shack and the tool shed, finding nothing. Mart grumbled as they approached the food cache, "Last one." The only sound they could hear was the wind whipping about them. The only thing they could see was the reddish glow of a flare or the beam of the flashlight. It was this that Mart hated about the Antarctic. And add the fact that they were looking for an extremely dangerous alien, Mart so wished he had stayed in the US.

As they approached the cache, Sumar's flashlight flickered, prompting an angered curse from Mart. But Sumar heard something else, through the wind and Mart's griping. A strange, low growl, almost a purr, coming from under the building. He turned to Mart and motioned for him to be quiet. "I thought I heard something, under there." He whispered as he pointed towards the base of the cache. He turned the beam of his lantern towards it, and saw a strange silhouette. He knelt, but Mart's grabbed his arm, "Be careful." Sumar nodded and moved closer, "I need a better look." The beam of light displayed a sickening mass of flesh, the Thing. Sumar quickly turned and shouted, "It's here! Get the fuel-" He never finished his sentence.

It was too late. A tentacle lashed out, puncturing Sumar through the chest. Mart jumped back in horror, dropping the buckets of kerosene. The tentacle split into four barbs, becoming a grappling hook-like weapon, and pulled him towards the base of the building. Sumar screamed in terror and pain as he desperately clawed the snow. Finally, he managed to grab two pipes leading from the bottom of the shead. Sumar tried to hold with all his might, but the Thing was too strong. He looked up, pleading desperately to Mart for help, but there wasn't anything Mart could do.

Sumar's grip finally slipped, and he screamed as he was pulled into the dark, waiting jaws of the Thing.

 **-0-**

Sabine heard the screams and turned towards Ezra, "Did you hear that? It sounded like Sumar." A new yell resounded across the frozen wastes, that of Mart. Sabine and Ezra ran towards the source, the food cache. They met up with Kallus and Saw right before it and saw Mart. Mart's face was covered in blood, Sumar's blood. He was staring at the building in shock and yelling out, "HELP! SOMEBODY! ANYBODY! HELP! OVER HERE! HELP!"

Kallus ran up to him, "What's wrong? What happened?" Mart was near hysterical, "It attacked him. It killed Sumar." They heard the screech of the Thing and saw a tentacle lashing out towards them. Kallus brought up his shotgun and fired a round. The tentacle was obliterated by buckshot fired from pointblank range. The thing charged. A stream of chemical spray hit it full force from a fire extinguisher held by Ezra. The chemical spray blinded the Thing, disorientating it. It fell back, taking more buckshot from Sabine and Kallus' shotguns. An errant piece of buckshot broke a pressure pipe, sending a superheated stream of steam into the Thing. The Thing screamed, in a way that nothing on Earth would. It jumped up through the floor into the food cache.

Sabine turned and raced back for the garage, and started rolling a drum of gasoline towards the food cache. Footsteps came running up and she spun and pumped the shotgun, "Who goes there? Stop or I shoot!"

"Don't shoot, Sabine! It's us!" Jyn and Ketsu rounded the corner, having run from the other side of the base. Ketsu stopped in front of her, "What's going on? We heard a scream and gunshots." A piercing, unearthly shriek resounded through the air. Sabine yelled, "It attacked Sumar! Help me with this!" The three picked the drum up and carried it towards the shack, while the rest of the crew kept the Thing at bay with fire extinguishers and shotguns.

They broke the sides of the fuel drum with an ice-ax, threw it under the shack, and backed away. Sabine threw a flare while Jyn leveled her flamethrower and pulled the trigger. The fuel drum exploded and the shack burst into flames. The Thing flailed wildly, trying to escape the fire. It's limbs punctured the walls of the building, where they were hit by more flames from Jyn's flamethrower. The Thing gave a final, bone-rattling screech as the intense heat of the flames consumed it.

 **-0-**

 **March 10, 1987, 0530 Hours**

The base was shocked. No one slept. The jubilant atmosphere of a few hours prior was gone, replaced by one of glumness and despair. Sumar was well-liked by most of the crew, even though he often liked to be alone. Ezra was extremely dejected, Sumar was a family friend of his. "Sumar had a family. A wife and a small child." All attention was focused on the two masses on the infirmary tables. One was the remains of the kennel-Thing. The other was the charred corpse of the Sumar/cache-Thing. Sumar's booted and charred feet poked out from the bottom of it.

Saw stood in the middle of the two, and began cutting them open with Jai's help. He first cut open the cache-Thing. A white, translucent sheen was encased by the hard, solid shell of the exoskeleton. Sumar cut through the sack-like material to reveal Sumar's face. Saw turned to the rest of the group, "His body appears to be encased in some kind of amniotic sack. The skin looks almost new, but there are several tendrils connected to his head." Saw stepped back to allow the crew to see. Many of them stumbled back in revulsion. Kallus squinted, "Saw, what was it doing to him?"

Saw shrugged, "Hard to tell. My best bet would be that it appears to have been in the process of absorbing Sumar." Saw extracted a blood sample from Sumar's corpse and turned to the microscope. What he saw astonished him. There were two different cells, one round, one spiked. The spiked alien cells seemed to be injecting themselves into Sumar's, absorbing them, then spitting them out. But the cells that were spit out looked exactly the same. The alien cells were replicating them.

Saw turned to the other thing, drawing more blood from the dogs. The results were the same. The Thing's cells were copying and imitating the cells of Sumar and the dogs. He turned back to the group and indicated the kennel-Thing. "You see, what we've got here is an organism that imitates other life-forms, and it imitates them perfectly. When this thing attacked Sumar and our dogs it tried to digest them, absorb them, and in the process shape its own cells to imitate them. This for instance." He pointed to a dog head found in the kennel-Thing, "That's not dog. It's imitation. We got to it before it had time to finish."

Jyn spoke up, "Wait, you mean this Thing can imitate anything and everything?" Saw nodded, "You see, this creature isn't wildly beyond what we already know of. Only in this creature, the cell nuclei can control those cells at will. It digested Charnauk, the huskies, and Sumar, and as it digested, studied every cell of their tissue, and shaped its own cells to imitate them exactly."

A collective silence fell over the group. Kallus broke it, "What do you think it was planning to do? Is it completely dead now?"

Saw became silent immediately. Kallus picked up on this, "Saw? Are you okay?"

Saw shook himself, "I'm fine. As for the former, I... I don't know. For the latter, yes it is. Nothing can survive being on fire for an extended period of time. It is dead, and cooked."

Jai cut further into the Sumar-Thing combination, "Wait. I've found something." Using tongs, he pulled out several silvery objects. The rest of the crew crowded around him, peering over his shoulders.

Ezra asked, "What are those?" Jai dropped them onto a cloth and opened Sumar's mouth. His teeth were perfectly healthy, "Dental fillings. I don't understand why they would be outside the body though, or why his teeth are perfectly healthy. It appears to have spit them out."

Saw suddenly became pale, as if he had seen a ghost. As if in a daze, Saw watched the crew as they conversed amongst themselves. Suspicious, frightened. He ordered everybody out. Nobody was allowed in the lab without his explicit permission.

 **-0-**

 **March 10, 1987, 1600 Hours**

The day dragged on and on with the heavy feeling of despair lingering. It only deepened when Ezra delivered the latest atmospheric reading to Kallus, there was no question anymore. A blizzard was coming. And the blizzard was due to hit in an hour or so. And when blizzards hit, communications got fouled up.

The Thing knew it had to take advantage of this blizzard. All the humans were bundled into this cramped building, ripe for the taking. It had been smart to plan a backup in case the first Thing had been discovered at the dogs. The humans were still unaware of its existence, it would use this to its advantage.

One of the humans was apart from the others, alone in a room. The Thing cautiously crossed the hallways, it was still outnumbered and needed to remain hidden. It crept into the room, arms up to cover the human's mouth. The Thing's hand was covered in acid, to fuse to the human's skin easier, and its other arm had turned into a long sword of bone, ready to kill the human if things got out of hand. It reached for the human.

 **-0-**

Saw did not come out of the lab for hours, and when he did come out to eat or use the bathroom, he was very quiet, not talking to anyone.

In the lab, he sat at the computer inputting information. Running simulations. He had drawn more blood and hooked the microscope to his computer. The results were shocking. The simulation displayed how the process of assimilation occurred on the cellular level, the alien cell taking control of the other blood cells, and not losing any mass. Almost like a virus. Saw turned and wrote in his notebook.

 _The Thing could have imitated a million life forms on a million planets. It could change into any of them at a single time. Now it wants to imitate life forms on Earth. It needs to be alone and in close proximity with the life-form to be absorbed. The chameleon strikes from the shadows. There is still cellular activity in these burned remains, the Thing isn't dead yet._

 _A study of the blood extracted from the remains of Sumar and the Thing found in the kennel reveal a startling discovery. The assimilation process not only copies the cells of the host perfectly, Sumar and the dogs in this case, but also does so without losing any body mass whatsoever. I wasn't sure at first, but now I know that the Thing wants to take over this world, to spread and reproduce. Each time it takes something over, it retains its initial body mass. The computer simulation has laid down that there is a 75% probability that one or more of the members of this base have been assimilated by now. If one of them escapes, everyone and everything on this world will be assimilated in 27,000 hours. Three years. The others do not know what they are up against, but I do. I know what needs to be done._

Saw put down his pencil and opened the drawer of his desk. He pulled a 3rd Generation Colt Detective Special revolver from it and opened the cylinder. Six bullets lay in the chambers, ready to fire. The gun would help, but Saw would also need a bucket of kerosene to fight the Thing. A flamethrower would be nice, and Jyn had one on her at the moment, but the other was in the weapon's locker. Jyn had the only key. The others may not know what to do, but Saw was certain that some of them knew what was going on. It would be up to him. No one could escape.

 **-0-**

Kallus and Ketsu were in the radio room trying to reach McMurdo, but the blizzard kept interfering the signal. After the fifth failed attempt, Ketsu took off her headset and turned to the Navy officer. Kallus asked, "Any luck?" Ketsu sighed and slammed her fist onto the table, "Any luck?! Hah! I haven't been able to reach shit through this blizzard! It's not going to get any better, and it's probably about to get a hell of a lot worse. Nobody is picking up."

Kallus crossed his arms, "Nobody. Get a hold of somebody! Get a hold of anybody! We have to report this mess."

A voice came from the doorway, "Hey, calm down guys. We're all on edge, but we can't just devolve into chaos!" The two turned to see Sabine in the doorway, bottle of alcohol in hand. "Try to get your mind off what's happened." She quickly put her hands up, "I'm not saying we should forget about what happened to Sumar. I'm just saying take it easy and don't let this completely unhinge you."

Kallus nodded, "Alright, what do you have in mind?"

"Well, Jyn, Ezra, Mart, and I were going to start a game of cards in the rec room. You know, Capitalism, BS, poker... stuff like that. You two are welcome to join. There's alcohol as well."

Kallus nodded, "Sounds good. But Zare and I are going to need some help later. He wants to see if anything is salvageable from the food cache." However, Ketsu shook her head, "I'm fine. Something might come through these storms and I'll need to be here if they do." Kallus and Sabine nodded and left the radio room.

They did not notice the figure watching them at the end of the hallway. It slowly stalked after them.

 **-0-**

As the blizzard fell over the camp, Saw walked through the corridors, his first target being the kennel. Two of the dogs had escaped, but Saw knew that they had probably ingested part of the Thing. That meant that they could not be left alive. He picked up an ice-ax and opened the kennel door. The two surviving huskies looked up at him. He swung the ax.

 **Next chapter: Tensions Flare.**


	7. Chapter 7: Sabotage

**A bit dialogue heavy and minor language. Hope you enjoy! Remember, feel free to leave a comment or review. If you feel this deserves it, favorite or follow this story, as it helps me continue writing a great deal.**

 **Achilles453 -** Thank you, I'm glad you liked the chapter! Yep, Saw's going off the deep end here, but that's why we all love Saw. I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

 **US Outpost 17, March 10, 1987, 2105 Hours**

Kallus, Jyn, Zare, and Sabine stood outside the food cache, inspecting it for any salvageable foods. They were carrying several crates of canned food. Kallus sighed and looked at Zare, "So this is all that's left?"

Zare nodded, "The fire destroyed everything except for the crates in the rear corner of the building." Concerned, Jyn asked, "How much food do we have? How long will it last?" Zare sighed, "With the stores inside, a couple weeks or so. We can stretch it out if we ration food." Kallus nodded, "We'll figure that out later. Right now, let's get these inside." The four hefted their crates and headed towards the outpost entrance.

Jai came out and met them, "Have any of you seen Saw?" They shook their heads and Kallus said, "No. Why?" Jai looked concerned, "I think that there's something wrong with Saw. He's become reclusive and withdrawn." Jyn smirked, "Like he is _all_ the time." Jai groaned, "I'm serious. Even more so than usual and I'm afraid he's up to something. I went into the lab to see him, and I found this latest journal entry."

Jai held Saw's notebook and began to read, "The Thing could have imitated a million life forms on a million planets. It could change into any of them at a single time. Now it wants to imitate life forms on Earth. It needs to be alone and in close proximity with the life form to be absorbed. The chameleon strikes from the shadows. There is still cellular activity in these burned remains, the Thing is not dead yet." Kallus shrugged, "Okay, so is Saw crazy or not?"

Jai snapped at him, "Listen to me: Saw writes that there is a 75% probability that one or more of us have been assimilated by now. If one of them escapes, the whole Earth could be assimilated in three years. _Three years!_ Saw's last line says _'I know what needs to be done.'_ " Kallus thought it over for a moment, then hummed approval, "Alright, we'll drop these supplies in the other storage room and then talk to him." Jai sighed in relief, "Thank you, Lieutenant."

As they neared the garage, Sabine stopped and put down her crates for a second, "Go ahead, I'll be inside in a second." The others nodded and entered the main building. Sabine rolled her shoulders, then heard a clamor behind her, and she turned as she ignited a flare. "Who's there?" A figure clad in winter gear was running from the helicopter towards the other entrance. Whoever it was held an ice-ax in both hands. She squinted, trying to recognize who it was. The figure had a limp when running, and she tentatively yelled out, "Saw? Is that you?"

She cautiously approached the helicopter, pulling aside the tarpaulin with one hand, while the other held an ice-pick. She shone her flare around the cockpit. The instrument panel was busted with an ax and the electrical systems and fuel lines had been cut. It would not fly for a long time.

A gunshot snapped her attention back to the outpost. She heard loud clangs and people yelling. Immediately, Sabine turned, threw the flare to the ground, and ran inside, hurrying towards the commotion as fast as she could. She saw Jai, Kallus, Jyn, Ezra, Mart, and Gooti crouched in the hallway, Saw in the radio room ranting and destroying stuff, and Ketsu slumped against the wall, a large cut on her head. Ezra spotted Sabine and motioned her to crouch down, "Careful, he's got a gun." Saw heard her coming and turned, continuing his rant. "You understand me? If anybody interferes, I'll kill them!" Saw fired, hitting the wall near Sabine's head.

Sabine looked at the others, "He smashed up the chopper really good. Thing won't fly for months." Kallus turned to the chief mechanic, "Jyn, you're the mechanic. Go see if he got to the snowcats." Jyn nodded and took off down the corridor.

All the while, Saw continued smashing equipment with his ax, "Nobody gets in and out of here! Nobody!" Ketsu groaned and attempted to get up, "Saw, please calm down. Why're you doing this?" Saw turned and swung the ax at her, "Shut up! I see what you are, you hiding bitch! Even if none of them can see the monster you are!" She fell back against the wall, but the edge of the ax still sliced her nose.

Saw continued ranting, this time directed at the people outside, "You all think that I'm crazy! Well that's fine! Most of you don't understand what's going on around here! But I'm damn well sure _SOME_ of you do!" Pounding footsteps came from the hallway and the others turned to see Jyn running towards them. "He's destroyed the chopper and the snowcats, and he's burned the rest of the dogs."

Gooti suddenly turned pale and hastily ran off towards the kennel. Kallus moved closer to the door with his handgun, but Sabine called after him, "Lieutenant, wait a minute!" She turned to Jyn, "Jyn, he knows you the best out of all of us." She nodded and Sabine continued, "Go around to the map room door, talk to him. Ezra, grab a table from the lab." They ran off.

Saw turned his attention to the radio, "You think that Thing wanted to be an animal! No dogs make it a thousand miles through the cold to the coast! No, you don't understand! THAT THING WANTED TO BE _US!_ If a single cell gets out, it could imitate everything on the face of the Earth! AND NOTHING COULD STOP IT!"

Jyn got to the map room door and put her arms out in a calming matter, "Come on now Saw, you don't want to hurt anybody!" Saw swung around and pulled out his handgun, firing at Jyn. Using her marine training, she dodged, but the bullet still grazed her leg. Saw emptied the cylinder in her direction, "I"LL KILL YOU!" The gun clicked empty and Saw threw it at Jyn as she poked her head out.

Ezra charged into the radio room with the table. Saw swung his ax at him, but it ended up getting stuck in the table. Ezra pushed Saw against the wall, but Saw kicked him, throwing Ezra, the table, and the ax to the floor. The rest of the crew ran towards him. Saw swung a chair at them, smashing Mart in the side of the head. But the others held him down as Kallus slammed the butt of the Glock pistol down. Accidentally hitting Sabine by mistake, he brought it down again, connecting with Saw's skull.

 **-0-**

Meanwhile, Gooti stared heartbroken at the burned remains of her dogs. She wasn't sad that Saw had burned the Things that lay in front of her; she was sad that they had been assimilated in the first place. Someone entered the doorway behind her, she turned to see Jai and Jyn. Jai gave the dogs a quick once-over, "I assume they weren't dog when Saw got to them."

Gooti got up, sadly, "Why? Why?" She walked out the door, heartbroken, those dogs were her life. Jai looked at Jyn, "I think I know what happened. When the Thing attacked our dogs, they must have bitten off part of it, swallowed it. The Thing must have attacked and imitated them from the inside out." He grimaced, "Nasty."

Kallus appeared in the hallway, "Jyn, Jai. Get your gear. We're going to lock Saw up." Jai nodded and went to get his medkit.

Outside, Kallus, Sabine, Ketsu, Ezra, Jai, and Jyn proceeded in boarding up the tool shed. Sabine and Ezra were nailing boards over the window, while Kallus and Ketsu fitted a lock to the outside of the door. Jyn watched them all with her flamethrower. Inside the shed, Jai administered a sedative to Saw, who looked up at him, "Why am I here?"

Jai responded softly, "It's for your own protection, Saw." Kallus and Jyn entered the small shack, carrying a crate of canned foods, enough for a few days. "And mainly ours." Kallus said as he put the crate down.

Turning to Saw, Jyn grabbed a bottle of vodka, "How you doing, old friend?"

Saw looked up at her and said softly, "I don't know who to trust." Jyn nodded, taking a swig from the bottle, "I know what you mean, Saw. Trust's a hard thing to come by these days." She reached into her parka and looked at the small crystal her mother had given her long ago, "Why don't you trust in the Lord."

Jyn, Kallus, and Jai were about to leave when Saw said, "Watch Zare." They turned and Kallus asked, perplexed, "What? Why?" Saw lowered his voice, and spoke in a warning tone, "Watch him close." Saw kept his eyes on them as the door was closed and locked from the outside.

 **-0-**

The Thing crept through the halls of the outpost. It had to hurry, it had to destroy the human's equipment before they figured out a test. The medic had the best chance of discovering it, but luckily he was elsewhere. The keys were easy to acquire, humans were so easy to startle. The lab was empty, no one near it. Pounding footsteps coming down the hallway forced the Thing to hide, but they subsided, heading towards the exit.

Quickly, the Thing opened the small refrigerator, the blood the humans had in storage was hanging there, ripe for the taking. The Thing reached in and slowly opened the bags.

 **-0-**

Zare met them at the entrance to the outpost, "Hey, Kallus. Someone's been in the pantry. I'm missing some corn syrup and flour." This revelation perplexed them all, Jyn asked, "Why would anyone want flour and corn syrup?" Zare shrugged, "Beats me. You can't really do anything with that except cook." Kallus nodded, "We'll deal with that later, for now, we have more... _pressing concerns._ "

Entering the outpost, Kallus called a meeting in the rec room. As the eight other remaining crew filed in, Kallus said, "Well, we're completely cut off now. Saw's badly damaged the radio, destroyed the helicopter, and ruined the snowcats. Any ideas?"

Ezra walked in holding a bundle, "Saw was right about something. One of us is not who they appear to be." He threw the bundle onto the ping pong table. Inside was a bloody hacksaw and a pair of shredded clothes. "I found these hidden in the supply room. I don't know what the hacksaw means, it can't be murder cause we're all here, but these," he held up the shredded clothes, "indicate that one of us has been... _busy_."

Jai spoke up, sounding defeated, "I guess all we can do is sit tight and wait until spring." Sabine shook her head, "No, we can't. Someone in this camp isn't what they appear to be. Right now that may be one or two of us. By Spring, it could be all of us. We have to root this thing out, and root it out fast."

Kallus nodded, "I know I'm human. And if you were all these things, then you'd attack me right now and get it over with. Some of you are still human."

Ketsu cut him off, "Why hasn't the Thing destroyed us, do you suppose? It seems to still be on the loose."

"The Thing wants to have life-forms available. I do not think that the Thing can animate a dead body. It's waiting... waiting until the best opportunities come. We who remain human, you things are holding in reserve." Kallus paused and looked at everyone in the room with a steely glare, "You Things don't want to show yourselves, you want to hide inside your imitations, pick us humans off one by one. You'll fight if you have to, if you're cornered or exposed, but you're vulnerable out in the open."

Jyn chimed in, "So, how do we know who's human? If I was an imitation, a perfect imitation, how would you know if it was really me?" Zare looked up fearfully, "Hey, hey Jai! Would I know if I was a monster? Would I know if the Thing got to me? Oh Lord, I may be a Thing already!"

Jai smiled, "Oh, you'd know." Sabine laughed sarcastically, "Only we wouldn't."

Kallus turned to the medic, "Jai, besides Saw, you have the most knowledge on these kinds of things. Is there a test we could do to determine who's human?"

Jai nodded, "Well, I've been thinking about a blood test. Mix a person's blood with uncontaminated blood, and see if there's a reaction. I have a lot of blood in storage in the lab."

Kallus nodded, "Seems like it should work, let's get going."

They walked into the lab, and Kallus gave Jai the keys to the fridge containing the plasma. He opened the fridge and pulled out a couple bags. Jai prepared a few petri dishes and grabbed a scalpel, "I'll test myself first." He cut himself, and let the blood drip into a petri dish. Jai then added some of the plasma from the fridge, and placed it under a microscope.

Kallus watched as Jai's brows furrowed in confusion. Jai looked through the microscope again and said, "What? That's impossible!" Jyn leveled the flamethrower at him and Gooti asked, "What is it? That test show you're _unhuman_?"

Jai looked around, "No. Look for yourself, this blood," he held up the bag of plasma, "isn't blood. There're no cells, nothing!" Kallus looked through the microscope and saw the same thing, there were no other cells except for Jai's. Jai filled an empty petri dish and showed the others.

Acting on a hunch, Zare dipped his finger in the "blood" and tasted it, "He's right. This isn't blood. It's the missing flour and corn syrup, mixed with what appears to be red food coloring. Someone's been busy in this camp."

A silence filled the room, broken by Ezra, "Wait, was the lock tampered with? Was it picked?"

Jai shook his head, "No, the lock is undamaged. Someone unlocked it with the key, opened it, closed it, and locked it."

"Well, who's got access to it?"

Jai looked around the room, everyone turned to stare at him. "I guess I'm the only one."

"And the only key's in my room." Kallus added, then promptly wished he hadn't. Sabine twitched, and slowly backed away from the group.

"Would that test have worked?"

Jai nodded, "Oh I think so."

Jyn butted in, "Someone else sure as hell thought so."

Ezra sighed, "Well, who else could have used that key?"

Kallus vehemently shook his head, "Nobody! Commander Tano gave it to Jai whenever he needed it. That key's locked in my footlocker when Jai doesn't need it."

Ezra didn't take his eyes off Kallus, "Could someone have lifted it off you, Jai?" He shook his head no, "I don't see how. As soon as I finish, I return it right away."

Jyn turned to Kallus and Jai, "Well, when was the last time you used it?" Sabine began sweating as she realized she was the last one with the key. _She_ had dropped it. _She_ had allowed the Thing access to the blood. She continued to slowly inch away from the group.

"Last time I used it was... I think last night, before the Thing broke lose." Kallus offered, "I suppose someone could have lifted my locker key off me."

Gooti shook her head and laughed, "Come on, Lieutenant. You expect one of us to believe that load of crap." Various crewmembers in the room began yelling at each other. An altercation could have happened when Kallus pulled out his pistol and yelled, "Stand down! Jai's the only one who's got any business with it."

Jai yelled back at him, "Now wait a minute, Lieutenant! You've been absent and alone on several occasions."

Ezra spoke up, "Kallus wanted us to run this test. Why would he compromise himself?" Gooti yelled at him, "So what? Is that supposed to clear him?! He might be trying to earn our trust then stab us in the back."

Zare spoke up, "Last night, I asked Sabine to get the keys from Kallus. To lock the supply room. I never saw what happened to them."

Kallus snapped his fingers, "You're right. I gave her the keys. They were on my desk when Jai asked for them a few minutes ago."

A clatter brought their attention to the door. Mart fell to the ground as Sabine threw him aside. She took off running and Kallus yelled, "Sabine! Stop!"

Sabine ran in terror as fast as she could down the central hallway. She reached the weapons locker and smashed the glass, grabbing one of the Mossberg shotguns and throwing two rounds in the magazine. The pounding footsteps behind her stopped and she heard a bullet being chambered. Sabine turned to see Kallus pointing his Glock 17 at her head. Jyn stood to the side, holding her flamethrower in Sabine's direction.

"Put that down." Kallus ordered.

Trembling, she slowly shook her head, backing against the wall, "No."

"Put that down or this goes right through your head."

No one doubted that Kallus wouldn't do it. Kallus may have liked the copilot, but they all knew the stakes. Sabine shook her head and yelled at the others, "You guys gonna listen to Kallus? You're going to let him give the orders?! I mean, he could... he could be one of those Things!"

Gooti yelled, "Burn her, Jyn! She's one of them! She has to be!"

Everyone watched the standoff, knowing full well that Sabine could be right. But they also knew that Gooti could also be right, Sabine could be the Thing as well. Ezra put his hands up in a calming manner, "Sabine, wait a minute. Just... take it easy. Put the gun down. _Put it down_." She shook her head. Ezra turned to the lieutenant, "Kallus, you don't want to hurt anybody."

Kallus nodded, "Right." Ezra looked back over to Sabine, "Put it on the floor, _please_."

Sabine trembled as she squatted down and laid the shotgun on the ground. She fell to her knees, sobbing.

Ezra turned to Kallus, "It's on the floor." Kallus lowered his weapon, then turned to face the others. "I don't know about Jai, but I give you my word that I didn't go near that blood."

Ezra turned to Jai, "Say, Jai, do we still have the remains of the kennel-Thing?" Jai nodded and Ezra continued, "Mix it with some of that fake blood."

Everyone looked at Ezra in confusion. "Why? What good would that do?" Jai voiced the question.

Ezra turned to Jai, "You found those dental fillings outside Sumar's corpse. Right?" Jai nodded again and said, "I'm thinking I see where you're going. You think that this Thing cannot imitate anything dead or inorganic, right?" Ezra nodded and Jai continued, "The Thing wouldn't be able to imitate fillings, so it spits them out. So anyone who has dental fillings is human."

Jai turned to Jyn, "Jyn, can I have your flashlight?" She handed it over and Jai opened his mouth, shining the light at his teeth. Greyish dental fillings were clearly present in the back of his jaw.

"You see, I proved that I am human. Jyn, please open your mouth." She did so, and Jai nodded in relief, "Jyn's human." He faced the rest of the group, "Open your mouths. Jyn, watch them with that torch."

Jai went from person to person, each person boasting healthy teeth. Jai walked over to Kallus, "Open your mouth." Kallus shook his head, "I've never had fillings of any kind." He opened his mouth to prove it. Jai nodded and turned to the last person, Sabine. She shakily got to her feet. Jai softly said, "Please, open your mouth."

Warily, Sabine did. Jai looked in and smiled, "She's human." A pair of silver fillings sat on a couple molars. Sabine let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in.

Everyone turned to Kallus, who unholstered his weapon, "I know I'm human, but I can't prove it. I can only give you my word; I hope that will be enough for you all." He put the gun down on a crate and said, "But, I guess you'll all sleep better if I wasn't in command."

Gooti went to take the gun, "I'll take it..." but was intercepted by Jyn, who pulled out her tactical knife. Ezra calmly stated, "I think it should be someone more even-tempered." He turned to Jyn, "How 'bout you Jyn? I don't think anyone would object to you, the only other military crewmember."

Jyn shook her head, "I can't do this alone." She turned to the other two humans, "The three of us will take command. Jai, get to work on another test. Sabine, grab the other flamethrower." Sabine nodded and went for the storage room to get the other M2A1-7.

Jyn turned to the rest of the group, "I don't know whether you all are human or not. All we have to go on is your word. From what we know, the Thing likes to go one on one. We stick together as much as possible, in twos and threes. From this point on, no one goes anywhere without either me, Jai, or Sabine. Like it or not, we have to trust each other, or we're lost."

 **Next chapter: Blackout**


	8. Chapter 8: Blackout

**Some minor language and a character disappearance ahead. Hope you enjoy! As always, feel free to leave a comment or review.**

 **Achillies453 -** Glad you liked the chapter! I'm happy Gooti's trigger-happiness surprised you. She may be crazy, she may not be, all I can say right now without spoiling anything is that everything will come to a head soon. I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

 **teresa. spanics -** Yep, Saw is an intense person after all and there's a malevolent Thing on the loose, maybe more than one. I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope you enjoy this one as well!

 **US Outpost 17, March 12, 1987, 1530 Hours**

The next two days dragged on, the fake blood and the remains of all the Things were burned by Jyn and Sabine. The blizzard pounded the outpost, freezing cold winds whipping across the metal roof. Sabine, Jai, and Jyn decided that they would sleep in shifts, with at least two of them awake at any single time. Everyone also had to congregate in the rec room every half hour to make sure no one _disappeared._ Jai spent most of the day in the lab, trying to find a new test. He had several Molotov cocktails with him.

Jyn spent most of the day guarding Kallus, Gooti, and Zare, who had been tied down on the couch. Kallus because he was still a prime suspect in the sabotage of the blood, Gooti because she had been alone with the dogs after the kennel attack and was a bit too trigger happy, and Zare because he was alone in the supply room when the Thing escaped. Jyn held the flamethrower on them at all times, even during eating and sleeping. She even took her sleep shifts with the flamethrower in her bunk.

Sabine had helped Ketsu try to repair the radio, keeping an eye on her the entire time. They hoped that they might be able to reach Commander Tano at McMurdo and warn her of the danger. Jyn had taught Sabine how to use the outpost's other M2A1-7 flamethrower, and she carried several flares and frag grenades as well.

Later in the day, Sabine rested in her bunk, Kallus' recorder in front of her. It had fallen to her to keep the log for the station, as Commander Tano and Kallus were both not in command any more.

She hit the record button, "The blizzard's been hitting us hard for a while, it's taking its toll on us. We have nothing else to go on, only the filling test. Jai's trying... he's trying so hard to find a test, but he hasn't found anything yet." She paused the recording, taking a swig from the newly opened bottle of vodka she swiped from the bar. "I... I think it rips through a person's clothes when it attacks. Sumar's gear was ripped to shreds, and Ezra found a bloody hacksaw and some shredded long-johns. The underwear's too badly damaged, I can't tell what size it is, or even if it's a man's or woman's." She paused, looking at the flamethrower in her lap, "No one... Nobody trusts each other anymore, not even me, Jyn, or Jai. I don't even know if I can trust my closest friends. God, I'm so tired... I haven't slept in who knows how long. Neither have any of us. There's nothing more we can do... we have no options but to wait it out... and hope for the best. Sabine Wren, helicopter copilot, US Navy Outpost #17."

She turned off the recorder and got up. Ezra was in the hallway, walking towards the rec room. He saw her and said, "Don't take this the wrong way, but you look horrible."

Sabine nodded, "I haven't slept since 4. I feel like shit."

Ezra sighed and looked at the ground, "I... I don't know what to do. I know I'm human, but I can't prove it to you. It... it messes with your head." He looked up at her, "How are holding up? You okay?"

When she didn't immediately respond, Ezra took a step forward, but Sabine lightly hefted the flamethrower. Sabine shook her head, "It tears me apart. I want to trust you, but I don't know if I can." She sighed, "I don't think any of us will be okay again. If... if we even make it. Just get back to the rec room. You shouldn't be walking around alone."

She watched Ezra until he disappeared through the rec room door, then slumped against the wall and closed her eyes. What had they become, where they couldn't trust their closest friends? Pushing away her thoughts, she continued down the hall to the lab and lightly tapped on the doorframe, so she wouldn't scare Jai. He still jumped and reached for a molotov, but relaxed when he saw it was her.

"How's it going? Find out anything yet?"

Jai sighed and shook his head, "Nothing, yet. But I've been thinking, if this Thing took over the dogs because they swallowed pieces of it... I think everyone should prepare their own food, and we best eat only out of cans."

She nodded, then turned towards the rec room. Jyn noticed her enter, "What's new?"

"No luck so far with the radio. Ketsu's still trying. Jai hasn't been able to find anything out yet, only that we should eat only out of cans and prepare our own food." Jyn nodded, and tossed her a couple cans of food, "Grab one of the others and take this out to Saw. He's still going to need food."

Sabine took the cans and turned to Ezra, "Hey, Ez, get your gear on. We're paying Saw a visit." He nodded and Sabine followed him towards the exit. Outside, Ezra led, holding a flare and following the guide rope. Sabine followed a couple paces behind him, her eyes scanning the darkness for any dangers. They came upon the tool shed to hear pounding inside. Flipping open the slot in the door, Ezra peered inside to see Saw nailing the shack shut from the inside. His eyes darted to the slot in a crazed fear.

Saw yelled out, "Go away! You won't get me! None of you will!"

Ezra chuckled grimly, it felt nice to laugh after everything that had happened, "What you doin'? A little interior decoration perhaps?"

Saw ranted, similar to his spree of destruction in the radio room, "Nothing's getting in here! You can tell 'em all that!"

Sabine yelled over the wind to Ezra, "Well, who the hell would want to go in there with him?" She handed the cans to Ezra, who pushed them through the slot. It was immediately shoved out by Saw.

"And I don't want any food from any of you! You won't get me! You'll never contaminate me! I know what you're doing, don't think I don't. And don't anyone try getting in here, I've got rope. I'll hang myself before any of you Things get me!"

Ezra chuckled, picking the cans up from the snow and ice, "Is that a promise." Sabine shrugged, "Let's head back. Nothing we can do for him now, he's hopeless."

Back inside, everyone continued to work, not trusting each other, but they had to out of necessity. Sabine dusted the snow off her coat and walked up to Jyn, "Saw's gone off the deep end. I'm afraid he's hopeless now. I don't think we could ever convince him that some of us are still human, or that its dead if we kill it."

Jyn nodded and sighed, "It... its hard to take. I've been friends with him for years, he was almost an uncle to me."

Jai walked in with a small blowtorch and a box of aluminum foil, "I've got something, though it's not good news." Everyone who wasn't tied down gathered around the table. Jai looked up and applied the blowtorch to the foil, "This is aluminum, it has a low melting point. If enough of this foil is melted, it can be poured into a mold, like so." He took Jyn's tactical knife and cut a small hole in the table, then poured the molten aluminum in. Once it hardened, he pulled out a small piece of solid aluminum that closely resembled a tooth filling.

Mart scowled at him, "So what? All this proves is that you can't be trusted either. Neither can they." Mart pointed at the two women holding flamethrowers.

Ezra retorted, "Why would he give this information if he was one of them? He'd just throw suspicion on himself." Mart angrily yelled, "Maybe he's trying to spread more chaos! I think he should be tied up with Kallus and them!"

Jai chuckled, "No, you didn't let me finish. It comes out with rough edges, and needs to be filed down. That process could take at least an hour. Like it or not, we have to trust every single one of us. Although, I think that the filling test could be taken with a grain of salt given this."

Jyn took the knife back and cleared her throat. She was still nominally in command, after all. "Jai's right. We can't let this Thing drive us crazy. Jai get back to the lab, see if you can find a test. Ketsu, I want you to continue working on that radio. Take a couple molotovs each of you. The rest of you, begin boarding up the exits. Leave the main entrance unlocked. Sabine, I want you on guard there."

 **-0-**

 **2200 Hours...**

Zare looked up from the couch, "Jyn, I gotta go to the can."

Jyn nodded, "Make it quick." She untied his restraints. Zare walked over to the bathroom adjacent to the rec room. Jyn stood in the corridor, keeping an eye on both the prisoners and the bathroom door. She mentally cursed herself, she was now split in attention to the two areas. The past events were not good on her mental health, she only hoped that she could keep her sanity for as long as it took.

The lights began to flicker, and Jyn's eyes widened in alarm. "No no no!"

The lights went out completely and she heard Ketsu call from the rec room, where she was repairing the radio. "Jyn, that a fuse or something?"

"No! Damn it, the generator's out. Get a flashlight, show yourself." She heard fumbling around in the dark, "You fellas on the couch all there?" She heard Gooti snort, but nothing from Kallus. She turned to the bathroom, "Zare, get out here where I can see you! Ketsu, where's that flash?"

Ketsu slammed the table in frustration, "It's not here! Somebody's taken it."

Something, no two somethings, ran past her, she turned to see two silhouettes, one carrying a flare, the other carrying something else turn the corner. One appeared to be wearing an orange windbreaker. _Ezra?_ "Who goes there!" She yelled. Nothing, no response.

Jyn depressed the ignitor switch on her M2A1-7, giving a candlelight to see the hallway with. She turned into the rec room, seeing the couch, "Where's Kallus?" Gooti turned her head to see the empty seat where the lieutenant was a moment ago. A screeching resounded through the hallways. Jyn and Ketsu locked eyes, frozen in fear.

Jyn ran to the wall and pulled the alarm, and the sirens blared.

 **-0-**

Meanwhile, Jai was in the lab when the lights when out. He lit his molotov and moved towards the corridor. The rec room would be the safest place to be. Jyn was there, Ketsu was there, and he was pretty sure she was still human. A figure glided across his view, "Who's there?" he called. No response. Slowly, Jai followed it, carrying a flare and his molotov.

He turned his attention to the hydroponic greenhouse, where they grew a select number of plants. The door swung eerily. Slowly, Jai crept into the greenhouse. There was a broken window, part of the roof was missing as well. Wind and snow drifted in. The plants were all frozen, but Jai spotted something on the ground. He picked it up and found a shredded pair of women's long underwear. Stenciled on it was a name:

SABINE WREN

The door swung shut behind him. Jai turned to open it, but it wouldn't budge. A sound came from behind him, something dropping to the floor. He turned to see a feminine figure silhouetted in the room. _Sabine?_ he thought. Jai immediately hid, dropping the shredded clothing as he dove, hoping that what he thought was the Sabine-Thing wouldn't find him.

The Thing in the room crept closer. Jai took the molotov he had and was about to light it, when he realized the bottle had broke when he dove for cover, the fuel had all flowed out. Thinking fast, he broke it even further and stabbed it into his abdomen. If he could play dead, it might leave him alone. It was a long shot, but he had to try.

 **-0-**

Sabine stood in the generator room with Ezra and Mart. She looked up from the generator, "Fuel pump's gone. It's missing."

They stared at her in shock, "What do you mean missing? Have you gone crazy?"

Sabine snapped her head around, "It's gone, missing, not here. Somebody took it! Get to supply, get the replacement from the storage room. Quickly!"

Mart and Ezra disappeared up the stairs into the darkness. They grabbed the fuel pump from supply and turned to bring it back to the generator room in the basement. They ran past someone in the darkness, unable to see who it was, even in the illumination of Ezra's flare, but they had no time to worry about that at the moment. A voice called out from behind them, "Who goes there?" It was Jyn, but they could explain later, once the lights were back on.

They clambered down the stairs to see Sabine, her flamethrower raised, but not at them. There was another figure in the darkness, holding one of the Mossberg shotguns at her head. Moving closer, Ezra and Mart saw it was Kallus. It was a standoff.

Sabine spoke first, "Somebody definitely messed with the generator. The only question is _who."_ That last part was directed at the Lieutenant.

Kallus angrily retorted, "I had nothing to do with the lights going out. Ask Corporal Erso. I came down here when the lights went out. I grabbed this shotgun because it was on the way. I heard that the generator wasn't working and came down to check it. When I did, she nearly burned me alive."

Sabine ignored him, "Ezra, Mart, can you fix the generator?"

Ezra nodded, "I hope so. I think we'll need at least 10, 15 minutes. What I don't get is..."

He was cut off by a screeching sound elsewhere in the building. All four looked at each other in shock. They were broken out of their trance by the siren blaring.

 **-0-**

Fifteen minutes later, the generator had been prepared and everyone stood in the rec room. Everyone that was, except for Jai. Gooti was released, they needed a few extra hands for the search. But Kallus and Zare were being retied to the couch, and were covered by Jyn with her flamethrower. Eyes flitted from one person to the other. Ketsu and Mart kept as much distance from the group as possible.

Ketsu looked over at Zare, "Where the hell were you?"

Zare replied, "Hiding in the bathroom. I got scared."

Jyn calmly butted in, "A lot of stuff's been missing. Parts from the helicopter and snowcats, magnetos, cables, wires..."

Zare interrupted, "Kitchen things too."

Sabine looked up at the others, "Anyone seen Jai?" There was no answer as everyone looked suspiciously at everyone else. Ketsu turned and glared at Kallus, "Where the hell were you?"

Kallus snapped at the others, "I told you already! I went to see what was wrong with the generator! I had nothing to do with anything that's happened."

"That's a load of bullshit, you lying bastard."

"I don't like that tone of yours." Kallus got on his feet and took a step forward. Ketsu threw a punch at him, but Kallus blocked it and delivered a hook right to her jaw. They both tumbled over the couch. Jyn and Ezra jumped in, breaking up the fight. "Enough!" Jyn growled, pulling them apart.

Sabine glanced at the roof, as the wind howled overhead. She turned to the others and spoke, "That storm's going to get worse any second now, so we don't have much time. We've got to find Jai. If you find him, kill him if necessary."

All heads turned to her, "Kill him?" Mart voiced the concerns of the group.

"We don't know if he's one of those Things. If he is, we need to get him before he changes. Do whatever is needed."

She handed a couple of the small, commercial blowtorches used for warming up the helicopter to Mart and Gooti. "Ketsu and I will search outside. Mart, you, Ezra and Gooti search the inside of the building."

"I ain't going with Gooti." Ezra said, "I'm not going with her."

"Hey, fuck you Ezra!" she yelled.

"You wanted to kill Sabine! I'm not going with you!" They almost came to blows, being restrained by Sabine and Mart.

Jyn chambered a bullet in her Glock and fired into the air. Everyone shut up and looked at her. "CUT THE BULLSHIT! Gooti, you go with Ketsu and Sabine. I'll remain here and guard them." She pointed at Kallus and Zare.

Sabine nodded, "If any of them move," she indicated Kallus and Zare, "fry them. We meet back here in thirty minutes, tops." She looked around at everyone in the room, "And everybody watch who you're with. Watch them really close."

 **Next Chapter: Tensions come to a head and the Thing is revealed**


	9. Chapter 9: Set Loose

**Some language and Major Warning: Character Death/Assimilation ahead. I hope you all like this chapter, and remember to leave a comment or review! I'll answer it and any questions you may have (with no spoilers of course)**

 **Achilles453 -** Yeah, way to go Ezra! I will say right now that there is more than one Thing in Outpost 17, Gooti was still tied to the couch when Jai was attacked so it couldn't have been her in the Greenhouse. I do feel bad for Saw, but I felt that there needed to be a little humor before the hammer falls. Oh, and fans of Saw may hate me for one part in this chapter, but I hope you will be satisfied with this chapter.

 **Guest -** Well, Gooti couldn't have been in the greenhouse. She was still tied down in the rec room when the lights were out. Remember, the Thing is a shapeshifter, so it could be any of them in the greenhouse. I hope you liked the last chapter and I hope you enjoy this one as well!

 **teresa. spanics -** I'm glad you loved the last chapter! The action's definitely going to pick up in this chapter and the next. Brace yourself cause several people are about to die. I hope you enjoy this chapter!

 **Outside US Outpost 17, March 13, 1987, 0015 Hours**

Gooti, Ketsu, and Sabine struggled through the winds outside, dragging themselves along the safety line to the tool shed. Sabine looked at her long-time friend Ketsu and handed her the flamethrower, "Keep an eye on her." She pointed at Gooti, "I still think she wants me dead for some reason."

Gooti responded with a snort, "Maybe it's because you sabotaged the blood."

Ketsu was dumbfounded that Sabine would hand over her best protection, "Why are you giving me this?"

Sabine responded, "We all need to trust each other. You all have had your lives in Jyn's, Jai's, and my hands, I guess it's my turn now. Besides, I still have a few molotovs on me."

Flipping open the slot, Sabine leaned in to see a faint light glow from inside. Saw sat eating from a can of beans. A hangman's noose hung from the rafters. She yelled over the wind, "Hey Saw!"

Saw jumped in fear, knocking his can over. Sabine continued, "Have you seen Jai? He's gone missing."

Saw looked haggard and afraid. His eyes kept darting around the room, as if there was something in the shadows. He trembled as he spoke, "I've changed my mind. I'd... I'd... I'd like to come inside. I don't like it out here anymore. I want to come inside where it's safer. I've heard... I've heard funny things out here."

Sabine reiterated herself, "Have you seen Jai? Heard anything from him?"

"Jai? No, it's not Jai. Please... you have to let me in. I want to help. I won't hurt anyone... I promise."

Sabine looked over her shoulder at Ketsu and Gooti, who both shook their heads. She turned back to Saw, "We'll see. You're safer out here. We'll get you when it's over."

She turned to leave, Ketsu and Gooti in front of her, leading the way. From the tool shed, they heard Saw yell after them, "I promise! I'm much better now! I'll be good, I swear! I'm all better! Don't leave me here! You can't leave me out here!"

Outside the entrance, Sabine suddenly stopped. Gooti and Ketsu noticed this and turned to face her. "Sabine? What's wrong?"

She turned to look at Gooti, "Gooti, go inside, tell them Ketsu and I are heading up towards Kallus' shack."

Ketsu looked at Sabine like she'd lost her mind. "What the hell for?"

"Yesterday, when we tied Kallus down, the light was off." Sure enough, the light in Kallus' shack was lit and visible through the window. Gooti nodded and hurried into the outpost to notify Jyn. She didn't trust Sabine, but she trusted Ketsu.

After about twenty minutes, they managed to reach Kallus' shack. Sabine lit a flare, a molotov in her other hand, and entered the shack. The illumination of the flare revealed a snow filled room. The corrugated steel roof of Kallus' shack was completely gone, as if ripped off.

Ketsu stared up in shock and amazement, "This storm do that?"

"No, it had to weigh half a ton. It couldn't be possible."

Ketsu looked down, kicking some snow. She spotted something out of the corner of her eye. A half-burned scrap of fabric fluttered lightly in the wind. She turned to see Sabine kneeling down in the other corner, grabbing some of Kallus' illegitimate stash of alcohol for use as molotovs. Ketsu quickly pulled out the fabric to find it was a pair of shredded long underwear. _Women's long underwear_. The name was still legible:

It read SABINE WREN.

 **-0-**

Inside, Mart and Ezra stealthily crept through the corridors. Well, as stealthily as they could in a lighted hallway carrying a blowtorch and molotovs. As they turned the corner, Mart fell behind a couple of steps and mumbled, "What'd we ever do to these Things anyway?"

Ezra came to an immediate stop and turned to face Mart. Mart looked at him in puzzlement, "What?"

Ezra was silent for a moment, then said, "Don't walk behind me."

"Right." Mart sighed and moved to the other side of the wall, shoulder to shoulder with Ezra. They moved towards the greenhouse when Ezra put his arm out, halting Mart. He pointed to the wall. The power cables had been slashed, cut, and some removed.

They pushed on, Ezra unlocking the greenhouse door. He pushed it open to be greeted with wind and snow blasting his face. The light from the hall revealed that part of the metal roof had been pulled off, a window was broken, and the plants were all frozen.

Mart said, "Somebody's broken in here."

"No shit. Now who would go and do this?" Ezra went closer to inspect the plants, to see if any of them were salvageable for food, but was yanked back by Mart.

"Ezra don't! Don't get near them. Those plants are alive. The Thing can imitate anything!"

Ezra chuckled darkly, "Now why would it become a plant. Are you saying I might get mauled to death by a large, sentient carrot?"

Mart lifted his torch, "We've got to burn them." He pulled the trigger and the frozen plants burst into flame. Ezra pushed him to the ground and tried to put out the fire before it caused any damage.

But Mart fell on something, no _someone._ A moan came from beneath Mart and he jumped up, his mouth agape with terror and screamed. Ezra turned and lowered his flare to meet a unpleasant sight:

 _Jai Kell lying on the floor in a pool of blood. Clutching a broken molotov bottle in his abdomen._

Jyn heard Mart's scream and yelled for Gooti to run to the greenhouse. She turned to the siren, then pulled it. And the sirens blared yet again.

 **-0-**

Jyn was startled to see Ezra, Mart, and Gooti carrying a wounded Jai into the rec room. The glass bottle still embedded in his torso. Despite her limited medical training, Jyn immediately got to work closing Jai's wounds. It took about another twenty minutes until Jai was bandaged and conscious.

He woke to see Jyn pointing the nozzle of her flamethrower at his face. Jyn spoke calmly, "What happened?"

"I was working in the lab when the lights went out. I lit a flare and grabbed a molotov, and was about to find you, but I saw someone, something, I don't know who. I followed it into the greenhouse, the roof was missing, as if it was ripped off. The door closed behind me, and wouldn't open. It was like someone had pulled it shut and locked it. I found some clothes. Shredded clothes on the ground. There was a name on it, Sabine's name."

That revelation dropped a bombshell and the entire group fell silent. Ezra ran out of the room, heading down the corridor. Mart went out after him. Jyn regained her composure and asked, "Where is it? For all I know, you could be a Thing, doing this to frame Sabine, spread more suspicion on us. I need cold-hard evidence before I burn someone."

Jai responded, "I don't know. I think I dropped it when I dove for cover. There was someone in the room with me. In the glow of the flare, all I could see was a feminine shape. I broke the molotov by accident hiding, so I stabbed myself. I thought if I could play dead, it might ignore me because it can't consume dead matter."

"Why would it attack you? Why would it not assimilate you?"

"I don't know. Shortage of time maybe? Maybe it thought I was dead? I don't know. As for why me, I was working on that test. I'm on to something. My notes in the lab have it written down on them. Maybe this Thing got scared and tried to get me out of the way."

"How are we sure you're still you?"

"Look at my teeth." Sure enough, the fillings were still in place in his jaw.

Ezra and Mart re-entered the room, "You can 86 your test right now Jai. Someone got into the lab, smashed up everything and burned all your papers."

Jyn looked at the others, "We take no action _yet_. Say, where is..." Jyn trailed off as she realized where Sabine was, and that someone else was with her.

Gooti realized the same thing. "Wren! She's with Ketsu! How long have they been out?"

Jyn answered, "About a half hour since you came in. Get to the entrance we didn't block. Mart..." she tossed him the commercial torch, "untie them. Each person take one of them with them. Reinforce the other entrances, and keep an eye on these three. If any of them move, you know what to do."

 **-0-**

Gooti stood guard at the window next to the only remaining door. The others were reinforcing the other entrances, making sure they couldn't be entered. The greenhouse door was sealed off as well.

Gooti looked out the window and saw a red light. She soon saw a figure, wearing a flamethrower, stumbling through the gale force winds of the storm, pulling her way along the guide rope. As the figure came closer, Gooti saw that the person had darker skin, not the tan skin of Sabine. Gooti turned to the corridor, "Hey you guys! Come here! All of you!"

Kallus, Jai, and Zare came down the hallway, followed by Jyn, Ezra, and Mart. They arrived in the vestibule right as the figure pounded on the door, "Hey! It's me, Ketsu! Come on, open up!"

Gooti unbolted the door and pulled it open. Sleet, ice, and wind sent Ketsu Onyo tumbling through the doorway. Gooti forced the door shut and Ketsu looked up to see a flamethrower nozzle pointed right at her face.

"Where's Sabine?" Ezra asked, worriedly.

Panting, Ketsu responded, "I cut her loose of the line up by Kallus' shack."

Ezra's face turned ghost white, "Cut her loose?"

Still breathing heavily, Ketsu nodded, "Yeah. When we were up, poking around Kallus' place, I found... I found this." She pulled a shredded set of long underwear from her jacket. Ezra grabbed it and read the name. His heart broke with every letter. The half-burned shred of fabric clearly said Sabine's name.

Ketsu continued, "It was stashed in Kallus' oil furnace. The wind must've dislodged it. I don't think she saw me find it. I made sure I got ahead of her on the way back. I cut her loose."

"Sabine...?" Ezra couldn't finish.

Mart finished for him, "She's one of them."

Ezra was on the verge of breaking down, "When do think it got to her?"

"Could have been anywhere. Any time. I knew it! I knew it got to her!" Gooti mused.

Jyn was still suspicious, "If it did get to her." She looked accusingly at Ketsu.

Ketsu looked up at her, "Look Jyn..." but was cut off by the conversation between the others.

"When the lights went out..."

"She was guarding this door, would have been the perfect time..."

"Right. Kallus was missing, and Zare..."

Ezra angrily butted in, "Fuck you, Mart! You too, Gooti! She was with us in the generator room! Or have you forgotten that!" He jumped at Mart and Ketsu, filled with anger, grief, and sorrow.

Jyn pulled them apart. "Damn it! This is just what it wants! To pit us against each other!"

 **-0-**

Sabine struggled through the heavy winds, struggling to find her way back to the outpost. The line had snapped, hopefully because of the wind. However, Sabine could not shake the thought that it was purposely cut. She would be dead if the Thing found her out here, she was unarmed except for a couple flares. The molotovs had fallen out of her pockets and slid away in the wind. Hopefully, Ketsu had made it back, the others needed that torch.

A faint glow penetrated the blizzard for a moment, the outpost. Sabine crawled along the snow and ice towards where it had been, using an ice-ax to prevent herself from slipping away on the glacier. The outpost loomed in front of her. _SHE HAD FOUND IT!_ She struggled the last few feet and stood up at the door.

 **-0-**

A pounding at the door silenced them and made them all jump back. Sabine's voice carried through the door, "Hey guys, it's me, Sabine. Open up!"

There was no response. The four surrounded the door, weapons readied. The fear and tension was so thick it could be cut with a knife.

Sabine's voice once again rang from the other side, "Hey, somebody! Anybody! It's me, Sabine!" When nobody responded, Sabine yelled out again, "Come on, damn it! I think the safety line snapped in the wind. I've been crawling around like a seal out here!"

Ketsu gave a harsh whisper, "Bullshit! She has to know I cut it."

The others kept their voices low. Gooti reached for the bolt, "Let's open it."

Jyn smacked her hand away, "Hell no!"

There was more pounding on the door. Ezra shakily asked, "You think she's changed into one of those Things?"

Jai shrugged, "I don't think she's had enough time to."

Jyn spoke calmly, but there was still an edge in her voice, "Nothing human could have made it back here in this weather without a guideline."

Sabine yelled out again, "Damn it! Where is everybody?! I'm freezing alive out here!"

Gooti again reached for the door, "Which is why we should open it. Now!"

Jyn smacked her hand away again. Kallus narrowed his eyes, his voice filled with venom, "Why're you so anxious to open the door and let her in here?"

"Because she's so close. Might be our best chance to blow her away!"

"No. Just let her freeze. We'll burn her before she can thaw out."

Ezra pleaded with Jyn, "But Jyn, what if we're wrong about Sabine?"

Zare responded before Jyn, his response was cold, emotionless, "Then we're wrong." She nodded and turned back to the door

Ezra looked at the others, the only support he could find was from Kallus, but even Kallus could not take on five armed people with only Ezra's help.

The muffled breaking of a supply window resounded through the hallway. Gooti yelled, "The supply window! She's inside!"

Jyn sighed, "Alright. We've got no choice now."

Inside the supply room, Sabine stumbled in the pitch black, trying to find a light switch. She heard the muffled voices at the door and worriedly asked, "What's going on out there?"

In the corridor, Jyn tried the doorknob. No dice, the door was locked. "Damn it! She would have the keys." She turned to see the fire ax on the opposite wall. Pulling it down, Jyn began to hack her way through the door.

Inside the supply room, Sabine jumped back when the ax smashed into the door. "What? What the hell are you doing?!" She yelled in fear. _What had gotten into them?_

"You're a dead woman, Wren! Or a dead whatever the hell you are!" Jyn yelled as she continued to smash her way through the door. "We found your clothes. The one's you tried to burn!"

"What clothes?!" Sabine yelled back as she rummaged through the supply room. Trying to find something, anything that could help her.

"You've been made, _Sabine Wren_." Gooti yelled the last part of that line with pure venom in her voice as Jyn continued to chop away. She put down the ax and turned to Gooti and Ketsu, both armed with torches. "Move in slow now."

Jyn kicked in the rest of the door and she and Ketsu sprang into the room. Gooti right behind them, ready to burn the Thing. The light from the hallway joined the illumination of a flare, casting the room in a whitish-red glow. They froze at what they saw.

Sabine stood before them, snow covering her jacket and her normally black and purple hair was now white and purplish-pink with snow and ice. She held a large bundle of dynamite in one hand and the lighted flare in the other, dangerously close to the fuse.

"Anyone messes with me and the whole camp blows." It was a standoff, Jyn made no motion to submit and neither did Sabine. Sabine yelled again, "Go ahead Jyn, burn me. I'll blow this place to the fucking ground!" Sabine appeared to mean it, Jyn slowly lowered her flamethrower.

"Put those torches on the ground and back off! Back way off!"

Jyn hesistated a second, but motioned with her hands for her compatriots to drop their weapons. They undid the straps and three clunks could be heard as the torches hit the ground. They began to back away when Sabine said, "Not you Jyn. Drop that gun you're carrying. Kick it over here." Jyn did so, dropping her Glock to the ground. She couldn't shoot Sabine, or the flare could ignite the dynamite and kill them all.

Jyn, Ketsu, Mart, and Ezra slowly backed down the corridor towards Kallus, Jai, and the rec room as Sabine picked up the gun. Gooti and Zare slipped back into the vestibule by the entrance and hid, hoping to catch Sabine off guard. They crept out the entrance and moved towards the supply window, slowly getting inside the same way Sabine did. Gooti stopped Zare and handed him a kitchen knife, swiped from the kitchen. Zare nodded, they could reveal Sabine as the Thing for sure. It would react to getting stabbed.

Slowly, Sabine entered the corridor, keeping the gun pointed at them, holding the bundle of dynamite in her armpit and the flare in front of the fuse. "You assholes." She saw Jai among them and her eyes widened in alarm, "What the hell is he doing here? He could be one of those things!"

Jai responded with a sneer, "Why don't ask yourself that question! After all, it was you who attacked me in the greenhouse!"

"What the hell are you talking about! I was in the generator room trying to fix it and get the lights back on."

She looked over them, only seeing Jai, Jyn, Kallus, Ketsu, Ezra, and Mart. "Where's the rest?"

Gooti and Zare launched themselves at Sabine, hoping to knock the flare away and disarm her. The blindsided blows sent all of them tumbling to the ground. The flare skidded away in the fight and the bundle of dynamite fell to the ground.

Gooti, Zare, and Sabine fought over control of the Glock, the others starting to rush in. The gun fell to the ground next to the copilot. Sabine elbowed Gooti in the face, and the dog handler fell backwards. Zare straddled her, brandishing the kitchen knife. He tried to stab Sabine, but she grabbed both his wrists with her hands and kicked out with both feet, knocking Zare off her. He turned to try again, but Sabine grabbed the Glock and fired three times. Two bullets hit Zare in the torso and he fell backwards. Sabine whirled and fired a warning shot at the others. "Stay back!" She grabbed the bundle of dynamite off the floor and ignited another flare. "So help me I mean it! Anybody touches me and we go! Don't think I won't do it so don't fuck with me!" They froze where they stood.

Gooti had her hands raised and said, "It's cool, Wren. It's cool, come on we ain't near you."

Jai chimed in from outside, "Yeah, Sabine, just relax."

Zare moaned from behind them, and Sabine turned to look at him. She motioned to Jyn and Mart, "You two, get him to medical. Jai, you get to work on him. Everyone goes to the medbay." She grinned menacingly, "From now on, nobody leaves my sight."

 **-0-**

Jyn and Mart dropped Zare onto the operating table in the infirmary as Ezra walked in with Kallus, Zare, and Jai. She eyed Jai suspiciously, "I still don't trust you. I think you're the one framing me."

Ketsu glared at Sabine and pulled out the shredded clothing, "This what you found in the greenroom Jai?" Jai's eyes widened in recognition, "Yeah, that was on the floor of the greenhouse. Where'd you get it?"

"Up in Kallus' shack. Sabine tried to burn it after attacking you."

Sabine kept her distance from the others. She held one of the M2A1-7s, had multiple sticks of dynamite taped to her flight jacket, and multiple flares in her pockets. She still held the bundle of dynamite in front of the flamethrower.

Looking around the room, Sabine saw all the hateful glances directed at her. The only two who hadn't passed judgement on her were Kallus and Ezra. Kallus because she hadn't killed him in the generator room when she could have easily done so, and Ezra who looked torn between his love for her and the evidence presented.

She sneered at everyone, "So you sweethearts had yourselves a little trial. Maybe you planned a lynching party? Hah! I should kill you on principle Ketsu. I fucking trusted you! Did it ever occur to the jury that someone could have gotten some of my clothes, ripped them, and put them in the greenhouse? Then stuck them in the damn furnace!"

Ketsu's gaze shifted to a tray of medical tools next to her. She slowly pawed at it, grabbing a scalpel. Slowly, she slipped it into her back pocket, unnoticed by the others.

Jyn responded calmly, "We aren't buying that."

Jai cut into the conversation, having stopped the bleeding, "Damn it, cut that arguing over there. Zare isn't breathing!" He began performing CPR. "Ketsu, wheel that defibrillator over here and turn it on. Mart, turn the oxygen on and put the mask over his face. Ezra, hold his shoulders." They did so.

Ketsu grinned menacingly at Sabine and mockingly said, "You'll have to sleep sometime Sabby."

"I'm a real light sleeper, Ket. And nobody better wake me."

Jai pushed the two electric prongs against Zare's chest. Zare's body heaved upward, a light crackling sound and an odd chirp came through the mask. Jai turned to Ketsu, "Again, more current this time!" Jai shot several more currents of electricity into Zare, trying to revive him.

Zare's body bounded up with more crackling and popping sounds. The mask popped off and a strange, savage mewing sound came out of the distorted mouth. The others jumped away from the table in horror. Jai scrambled off him, falling awkwardly on his leg, breaking it. Jai let out a howl of pain as he tried to scuttle away from it.

They watched in stunted horror as The Thing that was once Zare began to change. It's clothes started to rip as it grew a set of scorpion-like legs.

Sabine sprang into action, yelling at the others. "Get out of the way!" She fired the flamethrower.

But the Zare-Thing knew it was coming, and a strong tentacle whipped out of its stomach. It struck Sabine across the face, sending her flying backwards into a wall. Sabine fell to the ground, unconscious. The flame that shot at the Zare-Thing set it's left arm and leg on fire. They, and the right arm and leg, broke off and scuttled down the hallway. Zare now looked like a large overgrown spider.

The others broke for the doors, Jyn running towards the weapons cache, Ketsu towards the radio room, and Mart and Gooti to get anywhere that wasn't the infirmary. Ezra knew he couldn't help Sabine or Kallus at the moment, the Thing was between him and them. Kallus locked eyes with the meteorologist and nodded. "Get out of here! I'll protect her."

Ezra nodded, he didn't exactly trust Kallus, but he would be killed if he tried anything as foolish as trying to get past the Zare-Thing. He turned and raced towards the supply room. There was one of the flamethrowers down there that he could get.

 **-0-**

Kallus, Sabine, and Jai were the only ones that remained in the room with the Thing. Kallus grabbed the flamethrower, but noticed the propellant line had disconnected when Sabine was knocked against the wall. He tried to repair it as he heard Jai's scream.

Jai screamed, "NO! NO! NO!" as he tried to scoot away from the Zare-Thing that had now jumped off the table, screaming that same hellish scream. It crawled towards him, much faster than Jai could crawl away from it. "NO! PLEASE NO!"

Kallus jumped up to see Jai trying to push the Thing away from him, but his hands seemed to melt into the creature. It lowered it's head to Jai's. Jai looked at Kallus and screamed, "KALLUS! BURN IT! PLEASE!"

Kallus desperately wanted to, but the repairs weren't completed. It was like he was in a nightmare where he couldn't do anything but watch. The Zare-Thing began to fuse it's face to Jai's, until it was impossible to tell where one face ended and the other began. Jai screamed in terror and pain as it absorbed him. _And there was nothing Kallus could do._

 _Yet._ Kallus was finally able to jam the propellant line in and the flamethrower finally sputtered to life. Kallus pulled the trigger, but the Thing skittered away from the flame and out into the corridor, dragging the remains of Jai with him.

Hearing a moan behind him, Kallus saw Sabine starting to wake up. He gently slapped her cheek and her eyes snapped open. She saw Kallus above her, holding the flamethrower. They stared at each other for a second. Sabine knew that Kallus could easily burn her then and there. The only thing that she could hear was the rapid hammering of her heart and the crackling of the fire as she faced what could be her death. Finally, Kallus handed her the torch and nodded, before moving to put out the fire.

 **-0-**

Ketsu hid in the radio room when she heard a set of pounding footsteps coming down the main corridor. She looked out and saw it was Ezra, carrying a flamethrower. Calling him in, they piled whatever they could against the radio room door. Ezra had grabbed one of the flamethrowers from the supply room and Ketsu had a couple molotovs. Even if it got past the blockage, they hoped they could handle it. Ketsu turned to the radio, she had been repairing it since Saw's rampage and had managed to get the transmitter to work. It was weak and there was a storm outside, but they had to try.

She clicked the transmit switch and tried to call Commander Tano at McMurdo. "Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Can anyone hear me? This is US Navy Outpost 17. We have an emergency down here! Does anyone read me? We found something in the ice! We need some help down here. Can anyone hear me? We found something! We found something. We found something." She broke down sobbing, as she realized the hopelessness of their situation. The storm would be too strong, they were alone.

 **Next Chapter: Split-face's rampage and a sacrifice**


	10. Chapter 10: Live to Fight Another Day

**Wow, tenth chapter already and over 2000 views. I just want to say thanks to all my readers, but a special thanks to Achilles453 and teresa. spanics for staying with this story from the beginning.**

 **I was hoping to post this chapter on May 4th, but I took a fastball to the hand while umpiring a baseball game and haven't been able to type as fast.** **Sorry.**

 **Also, I'm planning a sequel/prequel story that will take place about 15-20 years before this one at the North Pole. Slight teaser: It revolves around Ahsoka, Rex, Lux Bonteri, and other Clone Wars characters. I'm going to start writing it soon and publish it shortly after this story is done.**

 **Okay, this chapter will have language, violence, and a MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH. Be prepared. Remember, feel free to leave a comment/review and I'll answer it in the beginning of the next chapter! I hope you all enjoy this!**

 **Achilles453 -** I'm glad you liked the suspense I threw into the last chapter! In my comments for the last chapter, I was only confirming that whatever was in the greenhouse was not Gooti, but it couldn't be Ketsu either because she and Jyn were in the rec room and made eye contact when the lights went out. Both of them, either of them, or none of them could still be a Thing. I was thinking of an electricity test, but I kind of already backed myself into the blood test version back in Chapter 2. The idea's still on the table for the above mentioned prequel to this story that I'm planning. I hope you enjoy this action-based chapter!

 **teresa. spanics -** I'm glad you loved the last chapter! The action comes to a head here, so I hope you enjoy it!

 **McMurdo Station, March 13, 1987, 0225 Hours**

Commander Ahsoka Tano sat in the bar at McMurdo, talking with Hera and her husband Kanan Jarrus. Kanan had recovered from his illness, but Ahsoka was unable to return to Outpost 17, the weather was too bad. The intercom clicked overhead and Derek "Hobbie" Kilivian, McMurdo's radio operator, called out. "Commander Tano. Please report to the radio room immediately."

Ahsoka glanced at Hera and Kanan who shrugged. Hera said, "It might be Ketsu. Maybe the weather's clearing."

"I hope so," Ahsoka sighed, "I just can't shake the feeling that they're in trouble."

Entering the radio room, Hobbie turned in his chair, "Commander, Captain." He nodded to Ahsoka and Hera, "I received a transmission from Outpost 17. It was garbled, lots of static, and it barely getting through. There was one clear portion, though I'm not sure you'd like what it contains."

He turned the dial on the speaker up and white noise filled the room. Ketsu's voice came over, repeating the message, "... Ma...ay! ...day! Can an... ...ead me? Th... US ...avy Out... 17. ... We fo... s...thing in ... ice! W... ...ed some hel... ...own here. Ca... ...ny...ne hear me? We fou... some...ing! ... found s... ...nd something."

Ahsoka's brow furled, _'They found something? What could be found in a place where there's nothing?'_

Hobbie paused the speaker, "The clear portion's coming up. I don't think you'll like it though." She sighed, "Put it on anyways. I need to know."

Sure enough, Ahsoka's confusion turned to horror as she heard a clang and something hit the floor. Someone yelled before several gunshots sounded. There was the whoosh of a flamethrower and a piercing screech before the radio died, and all that could be heard was silence.

 **US Outpost 17, March 13, 1987, 0220 Hours**

The Thing hid in a room. One of its brethren had been revealed by that infernal bitch Sabine Wren. Oh how it seethed in anger when it thought of that woman. In order to remain undetected, it had to remain hidden. Luckily for the Thing, there was a lone human being running in fear towards its hiding place in the chaos.

It leaned out the door and wispered harshly, "Hey! Get in here!" Luckily, the human complied, there was safety in numbers after all. _Or was there?_ The human looked at the Thing in disguise and whispered, "We've got to do something! What weapons do you have?"

The Thing maintained a look of calm and smiled at its victim. It placed a "reassuring" hand on the person's shoulder.

 **-0-**

The arm and leg-Things converged on the radio room. From the air vents, they could move without danger of being killed. They began to merge together, that way it would be easier to take out these two humans. One was watching the door in fear, listening to the prowling of Split-face roaming the base. The other was bent over the radio in the room, desperately calling for help. Neither was watching the air vents.

The arms and legs of what was once Zare finished coalescing into one being, growing to about the size of a small human. It smashed through the air duct right behind the humans. Time for some fun.

 **-0-**

Ketsu and Ezra heard the crash behind them and turned to see the Thing in their midst. It immediately went for Ezra because of the flamethrower he was carrying. Ketsu yelled a warning before she pulled out her Beretta 92, a carryover from her career as a police officer. The gun was usually kept in Jyn's cache, but she had gotten it before heading to Saw's shack with Sabine and Gooti.

Ketsu fired and emptied a whole magazine into the Thing. It screamed in rage and lashed a tentacle out at her. It missed, but Ketsu was forced to disengage and dive under cover. Ezra also slid under a table and overturned it, the Thing in between him and Ketsu. Ketsu jumped back up and fired multiple shots at the Thing, before nearly getting her head taken off by a taloned claw. Ezra was able to get his first good look at the Thing, it had shed it's human-like appearance and become something unworldly. Three blood-red eyes gazed at him in hatred from a blue face as he lifted the flamethrower. The Thing shot a clawed tentacle at him and grabbed the nozzle of the flamethrower.

Ezra pulled the trigger anyway, singeing the arm to a crisp. It blackened in the flame and fell back. Ketsu rounded the room and vaulted over Ezra's table, crouching next to him. She got back up and fired, drilling bullet holes into its face. Two of the three eyes exploded as hot lead bored their way into the Thing. The Thing screeched in pain and hatred and charged directly at Ketsu.

They jumped to the side as it plowed through the table, a tentacle wrapping around Ketsu's gun and crushing it in its grasp. It grabbed Ketsu, but the tentacle was unable to burn through the thermal gear she was still wearing. It threw Ketsu against the radio equipment, destroying the radio, knocking the wind out of her, and it advanced on her. She grabbed a flare off her jacket and lit one of her molotovs. She hurled it at the Thing, causing the front of it to light up. It screeched even louder and halted abruptly. It unleashed a tentacle, attempting to spear Ketsu between the eyes, but she dove to the side. She had to keep moving, and smashed the chair against the Thing. The small size meant the Thing fell to the floor.

But the Thing's hatred was so intense that it had devoted so much attention to Ketsu, and had allowed Ezra to get back to his feet and fire. A broiling stream of flame erupted around the Thing as it was on the floor. It jumped up, its chest opening up into a large mouth as it charged through the flames. The mouth clamped down as it neared Ezra, but he jumped back at the last second. The Thing's jaws bit down on the nozzle of the flamethrower and Ezra fired again. The stream of fire flooded through the Thing's insides as it recoiled in intense pain. The Thing desperately tried to put out the fire, but it was burning from the inside out. The Thing screamed in agony as it fell to the floor, never to move again.

 **-0-**

Sabine and Kallus ran out into the hallway, seeking out the Split-face Thing. They had to stop it and kill it before it got another one of them. Exiting the infirmary through the lab, Sabine and Kallus passed the radio and map rooms. Moving down the main corridor, they passed the hallway leading to the sleeping quarters. A gunshot rang out, and a bullet flew right over their heads. Jyn stepped out, rifle raised at the both of them. Jyn was geared up for a war. She had one of the outpost's two Heckler Koch HK93A2 pressed against her shoulder and one of the Mossberg 590A1 shotguns slung on her back. She had several frag grenades from her cache clipped to her jacket and several thermite charges hooked to her belt.

She looked at Sabine, who opened her mouth. Jyn relaxed slightly seeing the fillings still lodged in place. "You two okay?"

Sabine nodded, "For the moment. How bout you?"

"Not yet I'm not." Jyn tossed the shotgun to Kallus.

"We find it. We kill it." Sabine started down the corridor again, followed by her two compatriots.

A screeching erupted from somewhere through the vents and they heard gunshots and the whoosh of a flamethrower. Sabine turned, keeping a rear-guard as they continued down the corridor.

They passed each room, slowly clearing it. Slowly, but steadily, they moved down the main corridor towards the ad building and Ahsoka's office, otherwise known as the "command center". Jyn and Sabine entered Ahsoka's office, only to realize Kallus hadn't followed them. Kallus thought he had heard something coming from the kennel and went to investigate, thinking Jyn and Sabine were following behind him. Finding nothing in the kennel except snow, and nothing in the supply corridor, Kallus began to walk back to the fork.

As he passed the hole in the roof made by the kennel-Thing, the roof exploded inwards. Split-face charged at him. By some case of extreme reflexes, as well as dumb luck, Kallus barely dodged the Thing by a few centimeters and scampered down the hallway. He stopped by the rec room to realize he had put the Thing right between himself and Sabine, the only nearby person with a flamethrower. He was doomed, all he had was a shotgun, and that would not kill the Thing. Looking back, Split-face stalked into the main corridor. It screamed at him and prepared to charge, so Kallus did the only thing he could, and started to unload the eight shell magazine at what was once Zare and Jai. The magazine clicked empty and the Thing was still alive, only slightly injured if at all. He could have swore that that damned Thing was smirking at him, if it could out of that deformed mouth. Kallus swore, hastily reloading the shotgun.

 **-0-**

Jyn and Sabine were inspecting Ahsoka's office when they heard the commotion out in the hallway. Jyn looked at Sabine and said, "Cover my back." Sabine nodded, sweeping the flamethrower over Ahsoka's office as she backed out behind Jyn.

Jyn stepped out to see Split-face tanking multiple shotgun rounds from someone who had to be Kallus.

"Hey! Over here!" She shouldered her weapon and fired. "Sabine, get out here! _NOW!_ "

The Thing halted as it heard a voice and felt 5.56mm rifle rounds slam into it. It turned to see Jyn firing bullet after bullet at it. She unclipped a frag grenade and threw it at the Thing. The explosion blew off one of the Thing's scorpion legs, but did not kill it. Jyn threw another grenade, and the Thing scuttled back to escape the blast. The leg reattached itself, causing Kallus to raise an eyebrow in realization. That was it's weakness! Sabine stepped into the corridor as well, and prepared to fire.

Split-face saw Sabine and screamed at the two women in hatred and rage. There was the bitch who had revealed it and thrown a monkey wrench into its plan. Split-face charged, snarling in fury and lunged right at Sabine. Sabine fired, but the narrow passageway hampered the effectiveness of the flames. The Thing unleashed two tentacles from the remnants of its shoulders through the fire. They flew right for Sabine's face, and Split-face would have smirked if it was still in the form of a human. She would be too late to dodge with that heavy flamethrower on her back. And it would take too long for her to drop it.

There would be no escape for her. The Thing knew it would make her suffer before she died. _Sabine Wren was doomed._

 **-0-**

Sabine saw the tentacles flying straight at her, and fired at them. The tentacles crisped in the flames, but still flew true. Inside, Sabine knew she was done for and braced herself for the end. She grabbed a stick of dynamite off her jacket, ready to blow herself up once the Thing stabbed her.

However, instead of the stabbing pain of the tentacles impaling her face and chest, Sabine felt someone forcefully push her to the side, the flames still flying from her torch scorching the wall of the ad building. She heard a pained cry to her side and saw Jyn, with two tentacles lodged in her torso. Sabine gasped and ran for Jyn's side.

Jyn pushed her away and pulled out her tactical knife. She quickly severed the tentacles, but parts of them were still lodged in her chest. She could feel the tentacles clawing inside her, and knew the Thing's cells were now coursing through her bloodstream. It was only a matter of time now. She looked at Sabine and screamed in agony, "Sabine! RUN!"

Jyn threw Sabine off her and shakily got to her feet to stare down the approaching Split-face Thing. The Thing jerked from repeated shotgun blasts coming from behind it. Kallus had reloaded and was firing away. Split-face ignored him and continued to stalk towards Jyn and Sabine.

Jyn pulled out two frag grenades and flipped off the pins. Being a Marine, she knew the dual explosions would detonate the other charges on her body. It was now or never, the Thing cells had reached her heart and were pumping to all corners of her body. Jyn turned to Sabine and gave her a small, sad smile. "Live to fight another day, Sabine. Live to fight another day."

"Jyn! NO!"

Jyn took off running, straight towards the Thing. She slammed shoulder first into the Thing, pushing with all her might. She forced both herself and what was once Zare and Jai into the ad building. The Thing's chest opened up and a tongue-like tentacle dragged her torso into a mouth. Jyn let it. She felt no fear, only satisfaction. The Thing had been tricked into swallowing the explosives. The grenades exploded, igniting the thermite hooked to her belt. Both Jyn and the Thing began to burn in the intense heat of the flames. The HK93 still strapped around her body began to melt.

But Jyn's didn't feel it. She blocked out the pain and what was happening to her. Jyn touched the crystal around her neck and smiled. Her last thought was one of inner peace. She had saved her friends, and had no regrets as the fire and explosions consumed her.

 **-0-**

Sabine screamed and watched in horror as Jyn threw herself into the Thing. She had seen the grenades in Jyn's hands and knew instantly what the marine corporal was doing. She began to run towards Jyn, but she had pushed Split-face into the ad building. A muffled explosion sounded and Sabine knew Jyn had done it. Jyn had saved Sabine and Kallus, but lost her own life in the process.

Almost in a trance, Sabine walked to the doorway of the ad building and sank to her knees. There was nothing left of Jyn, and Split-face had been blown apart. Its severed head lay on the ground, with the various other limbs lay on the ground. They burned, everything in the ad building was burning. Kallus walked up behind her, a similarly shocked expression on his face. Tears were in his eyes, the two were very close. Corporal Jyn Erso was like a younger sister to Kallus and he put a hand on Sabine's shoulder. He steadied himself on the doorframe, before breaking down crying.

Kallus' eyes had widened when he had first seen Jyn jump in front of the tentacles that were meant for Sabine. She had cut them off, but then inexplicably dove for the Thing, pushing it away into the ad building, and away from himself and Sabine. Jyn's last words still rang in his ears: _"Live to fight another day, Sabine. Live to fight another day."_ He knew it then, Jyn was being assimilated and did the only thing she could. She had sacrificed herself for them, and they had to make sure that her sacrifice was not in vain.

Gooti and Mart ran up, brandishing fire extinguishers. They saw the carnage inside and immediately turned away. Gooti yelled at Mart, "We've got to put out that fire!"

Sabine had slowly gotten up and said, "No. Let it burn. Let it all burn." Her voice was empty, hollow. Gooti and Mart knew immediately what had happened, "She killed it didn't she?"

Sabine nodded and stepped aside, Gooti and Mart ran in and fired their extinguishers over the room. Satisfied that the fire had been put out, they looked at Sabine and Kallus in the doorway.

A light skittering sound occured from behind them and they saw the head of Split-face skittering on insect-like legs towards the corner. It could hide there and find a victim later. Mart saw it and said, "You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"

Sabine took one look at it and narrowed her eyes. She pulled the trigger. The Thing burst into flames, and she relished in the feeling. This _Thing_ had killed one of her close friends and comrades. She wanted revenge. She wanted all these Things to burn and to suffer. She hated them, and relished the feeling that burning the head gave her. She kept the flames flying, burning the head as it screeched in pain and agony.

She would have emptied the tank, but Kallus put a hand on her shoulder and motioned to himself, Gooti, and Mart. She knew, she had to keep some fuel in case one of them was a Thing. She shut the flame off and Gooti and Mart put out the fire.

All the while, Kallus watched the burning remnants of the Thing with interest. He nodded to Sabine and motioned he wanted to talk. Sabine turned to Gooti and Mart, "Get to the rec room. If you're not there when I arrive, I'll burn you on sight."

They nodded and turned down the corridor. Sabine spun to Kallus, flamethrower leveled at him. "Don't try anything. What do you want?"

"I think I've figured something out about the Thing."

"I think so too. But lets see what you think."

"Okay, remember back to the kennel attack," Sabine nodded and Kallus continued, "there was a tentacle that had been severed. It was squirming even after it had been cut from the body. And before, when it somehow sensed Jyn coming in with the torch, half of it split off and escaped. When you tried to burn Zare, the limbs that caught fire broke off from the main body. I'm thinking each part of this Thing is a whole. How to exploit that? I don't know."

Sabine thought it over, "Jai was close to the answer. He realized that only a small part of the Thing is needed to attack someone. But he didn't get close enough, or put the pieces together in time. When Jyn cut those tentacles off her, they remained lodged in her chest, squirming. And the head, it tried to save itself. I think I have an answer on how to exploit it. Now get to the rec room and keep an eye on Gooti and Mart. I don't trust either of them. Or you for that matter."

Kallus nodded and left. Sabine was about to move to the radio room and get, _or burn,_ whoever was in there, when she saw something on the floor of the hallway. Kneeling down, Sabine picked up a small whitish-clear crystal. Sabine had seen it before, it belonged to Jyn. The Marine had always worn it around her neck, it must have been blown here by the explosion. Sabine wiped all the blood off it and clutched it close to her chest, shedding a few tears. Jyn may be dead, but Sabine promised herself there and then that she would not let Jyn's sacrifice be in vain. "I'll finish what you started, Jyn. I'll do whatever it takes to kill it." She said to herself.

 _She would kill this Thing, or die trying._

 **-0-**

Ezra and Ketsu had hunkered down in the radio room. They had heard gunshots, screeching, an explosion, and lots of yelling, but they didn't dare leave their safe, well somewhat safe, haven. Ezra turned to Ketsu, "You think they're all dead?"

"I don't know. I hope not."

A pounding at the door snapped their attention to the corridor. A voice yelled through, loud and threatening. "Ezra! Ketsu! I know at least one of you are in there! It's Sabine! Come out of there. Now!"

Ketsu walked up to the door, "How do I know you're not one of those Things?!"

"You don't."

Ketsu scoffed, "Then why should we let you in?"

"Because if you don't, I'll just kick the door down and burn you two. Now open up!"

Ketsu backed away, racking her brain whether to comply or not, when a scraping sound was heard from the door. She turned to see Ezra removing the barricade. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"Opening the door." Was Ezra's reply.

"What the hell for? She could be one of those Things!"

"And if she is, I have a flamethrower."

Ezra opened the door to find Sabine, flamethrower raised. The nozzles of both flamethrowers were pointed at each other's heads. Sabine saw the charred Thing on the ground and immediately clicked the igniter trigger and a small bit of flame protruded from the end. She had the torch aimed at the two of them. She could see that the Thing on the floor was dead. Completely dead. _But were they?_ "Put that torch on the ground. Now Ezra!"

Ezra shook his head, "Give me one reason I should."

Sabine retorted, "Because if you don't I'll burn you here and now." Her voice was devoid of all emotion except one: pure, raw determination.

Ezra knew she wouldn't hesitate to kill him, even if they were engaged. "Would you really do that?"

"Yes. Jyn sacrificed herself to kill it, I'm not letting her death be in vain. That Thing on the ground there. It may be dead, or it may be in one of you. If you won't comply, I'll kill you."

Ezra sighed and lowered and unstrapped the weapon. Sabine smiled, "Smart. Now the both of you lead the way to the rec room." Her grin turned menacing and there was a mischievous glint in her eye, "I've got a little something planned."

 **Next Chapter: The Blood Test**


	11. Chapter 11: Is It Dead?

**Hi everyone. So, bad news. After this chapter, I might not post again for a little while. I just had a... really bad incident on Saturday** **while umpiring a baseball game that's really unhinged me. A coach got in my face about a call I made and called me the worst umpire he's seen and that I was calling a bullsh*t game. Don't get me wrong, I _AM_ going to finish this story, but I just need some time to recenter myself.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it may be the last for a while. Hopefully not, but it depends on how long it takes for me to recover.**

 **Despite that** **, on to the blood test. Let's be honest, you can't really write a Thing-fic without the blood test in some way, shape, or form. There will be character death, and by the end of this chapter, only a few humans will be left standing.**

 **Another snippet of info about my upcoming prequel story: Since it is set in the Cold War, there will be Soviet vs. American tension. Lux is a Soviet researcher, while Ahsoka is a US Navy pilot and Rex is a US Army Ranger Captain. I'm still trying to come up with a title that would work well, let me know if you have any suggestions.**

 **Achilles453 -** Thank you! It means a lot to me that you love this story and are going to read the prequel/sequel. As for who is the Thing, they're going to be revealed in this chapter. As for why the Thing has a fixation on Sabine, in the novella by John Campbell, the Thing is telepathic. It is in this story as well, and the remaining humans are going to figure that out in a future chapter. My reason for why the Thing wants to get rid of Sabine so much is that it knows that she is one of the few people there that are capable of figuring out its game and stopping the Thing. Kallus has been tied down and Ezra is one of the people under suspicion for most of the story, so they aren't as much of a problem to the Thing. It tried to get rid of her by framing her, but Sabine shot down that idea and inadvertently revealed one of the Things in the process. I was planning on having a post-epilogue chapter that goes more in depth in this story, so I'll explain more there. I hope this is enough for the moment and that you like this chapter as well!

 **teresa. spanics -** Well, it wouldn't be much of a story if the Thing was felled by a couple gunshots now would it? I'm glad you liked the last chapter and hope you love this one too!

 **Antarctica, Several Miles Away from McMurdo Station, March 13, 1987, 0300 Hours**

Commander Tano sat nervously in the back of a snowcat. Hera and Kanan had stayed behind at McMurdo as Hobbie unsuccessfully tried to reestablish contact with Outpost 17. It had been over half an hour, yet there was no word from the Outpost. Ahsoka almost felt like banging her head against the wall. She had commandered a snowcat, desperate to reach her friends. What had gone wrong?

Could they have succumbed to cabin fever? She shuddered at the thought, then realized Ketsu had said that they found something in the ice. What could this something be? Ahsoka's memory flashed back to about 15 years ago at the North Pole. The final battle against that alien, it had nearly killed her. Shaking off the memory, she realized the driver was trying to get her attention.

He yelled, "Commander, we can't penetrate the storm. It's a complete whiteout out there, we'd never make it."

"We have to carry on! I need to get there!"

"Sir, with all due respect, we can't! The storm's interfering communications and we'd be in unfamiliar terrain. If we carry on, we die!"

Ahsoka sighed, "Alright. Let McMurdo know we can't penetrate the storm." She sank back in her seat, and did bang her head back against the wall several times. She knew she wasn't just retreating, it felt like she was abandoning her friends. She almost felt that they were dieing, and that she should be there.

She sighed and slammed her fist down, before putting her head in her hands and crying.

 **Outpost 17, March 13, 1987, 0330 Hours**

Sabine had refilled the fuel tanks of both flamethrowers and walked into the rec room. Kallus was standing to the side of the others, training a shotgun on them. Sabine looked at him, "Drop that weapon Kallus. Move over there with them."

He glanced at her, but complied, leaning the shotgun against a table. Sabine had emptied out Jyn's cache and the contents on the table: one HK93A2, the other Mossberg 590A1, several frag grenades, and a couple thermite charges laid next to a box of dynamite. Several sticks of dynamite remained secured on Sabine's flight jacket.

Sabine tossed a couple reams of rope and cable onto the couch in front of the others.

Ezra looked up at her and asked, "What you got in mind, Sabine?"

"A little test. Kallus, you and Ezra tie everyone down real tight."

Ketsu sneered at her, "What the hell for?"

"For your health." Sabine snarled back.

Gooti looked at all the others and shouted, "Come on, let's rush her! She's not going to blow all of us up!"

Sabine stared her down, the nozzle of the flamethrower subtlety pointed in Gooti's direction. It was a stand-off, broken only by Ketsu. "No, no, wait a minute." She moved closer to her. "Let's do what Sabine says. After all, she did try to take out Zare pretty quick. Didn't she?"

Sabine looked at her and lightly raised the pistol, "That's close enough Ketsu."

Gooti stood defiant, "You ain't tieing me up."

"Then I'll have to kill you, Gooti."

Ketsu slowly brought the scalpel into her hand. She gripped it tightly, ready to strike. She couldn't trust Sabine anymore. For all she knew, Sabine was maneuvering them into a position where she could kill them easily.

"Then kill me."

Sabine moved the gun from Ketsu to the dog handler. "I mean it." Sabine snarled in a low, menacing voice. She fired a warning shot above Gooti's head.

Gooti ducked instinctively before letting out a sigh, "Hmph. I guess you do."

Ketsu lunged forward, but Sabine ducked and sidestepped. The scalpel sliced her cheek instead of driving through her throat. Sabine grabbed Ketsu's hand and elbowed her in the head, before grabbing her shoulders and kneeing Ketsu in the stomach. Winded, Ketsu dropped to the floor. The others started to rush in and Ketsu got up. Sabine shot her in the leg, before whirling to fire a warning shot at the others. Ketsu lay on the ground, clutching her leg.

A minute later, Sabine cut the rubber insulation of a copper wire as Kallus and Ezra tied everyone down. Gooti mumbled to herself as Kallus tied the last knot. "We should have just jumped her ass."

Ketsu snorted at Gooti, "Yeah, I tried that. Didn't work so well for me. You want to try?"

Sabine ignored them, motioning to Ezra, "Kallus, tie up Ezra over there." As Kallus began to strap Ezra to an armchair, Sabine looked at the others tied to the couch. "We're going to draw a little bit of everybody's blood."

Ketsu interrupted, "Why? So you can drink it?"

Sabine chuckled, "No, although she might." She pointed to Gooti before continuing, "We're going to find out who's the Thing. Watching Zare and later Jai back there gave me and Kallus the idea that every one of you Things is a whole. Every little piece of you assholes is an individual being. Every piece is self-sufficient, a monster in itself, with it's own built-in desire to protect its own life.

There's nothing mysterious about blood; it's just as normal a tissue as a piece of muscle, or a piece of one of you Thing's tentacles. You see, when a man bleeds, it's just tissue. Blood from one of you Things won't obey when it's attacked. The blood will live, it'll try to survive and crawl away from... let's say a hot needle. You'll have to bleed, if you don't bleed when cut, then, by God, you're phony! Phony from wherever the hell you came from!"

Kallus went from person to person, slicing their thumbs with the scalpel taken from Ketsu. He collected the blood from Ezra, Ketsu, Mart, and Gooti into different petri dishes, sliding them on the table before moving to the next person. After Gooti, it was his turn. Kallus sliced his finger, letting the blood drip into a clean dish. Sabine nodded, "That's good. Now move back there." She indicated with her torch to a corner of the room. Kallus stepped back, sweat beginning to form on his brow as Sabine held the spool of wire in front of her torch, letting the flame heat the tip of the wire.

The others watched intently as the wire began to glow reddish-orange. Sabine pointed her torch directly at Kallus as beads of sweat stood out on both of their foreheads. Kallus held his breath as the wire descended towards the blood and he closed his eyes.

The wire hit the blood, letting out a soft hiss. Sabine tried again and it hissed a second time. Kallus let out a long breath as Sabine nodded, "I guess you're okay. Put that on and watch them." She pointed to the second M2A1-7, which Kallus strapped on.

Sabine proceeded to cut herself, letting a small amount of blood accumulate into a new petri dish. She reheated the wire, and it began to glow again. "Now I'll show you what I already know."

Sabine touched the wire to the blood, and a hiss sounded through the room. Ketsu glared up at her, "That's a crock of shit."

Sabine smirked at Ketsu, "We'll see. Mart now."

Gooti snarled at Sabine, "This is pure nonsense! It doesn't prove a thing!"

Sabine narrowed her eyes at the dog handler, "I thought you'd feel that way, Gooti. With the way you've been wanting to kill me at every step. You left to go to the kennel when Saw was smashing the radio. For all I know, you could have sabotaged the blood. I'll do you last."

Sabine touched the wire to Mart's blood only for it to spring up with a shriek. Startled, Sabine let go of the dish and the nozzle of the torch fell to the ground. The fuel line disconnected from the nozzle.

Ezra yelled in horror, "Get away from it! Sabine! Burn it!"

The Mart-Thing charged forwards with incredible force, racing for Sabine. Its face splitting, its mouth roaring. The Mart-Thing dragged the couch with it, pulling a screaming Ketsu and Gooti with it. The Mart-Thing slammed shoulder first into Sabine, knocking her over the table. Sabine yelled out, "Kallus!"

It moved too fast. The Mart-Thing shredded its bonds and lept at Kallus. Kallus shot off a burst of flame, not enough for it to catch fire, but enough to distract it. Sabine dived onto the Mart-Thing's back and the three went crashing to the floor. The others sat helplessly, struggling against their bindings, as they watched the melee unfold. The Thing threw both Sabine and Kallus off of it, and Sabine scrambled back up and grabbed the nozzle of her flamethrower. She quickly raised it to fire, but the Mart-Thing just smirked at her. She fired, but only a short burst of flame flew out of the end. The flamethrower sputtered and Sabine realized it was in need of repair. The fuel line had disconnected. She quickly turned her attention to the explosives on the table.

Kallus had gotten back to his feet and the Thing turned back to him. Kallus fired, but the Thing dodged by jumping up to the roof. The others were screaming hysterically as the flames passed right above them. The Thing scuttled across the roof, almost right above them. It fell down right on top of Kallus, who dove to the side. Sabine ignited a flare and grabbed a bundle of dynamite from the table. She lit the fuse and ran at the Mart-Thing as it approached the felled Kallus.

Kallus saw her coming and yelled out at the Mart-Thing, "Do it! You son of a bitch!" Its head split down to its neck, transforming into a large maw as it bent down, but Kallus grabbed a nearby metal chair and shoved it into the Thing's gaping maw. The Thing tried to dislodge the chair from its mouth, but was unable to. It spun around and a second mouth opened up from its back. A blackened, iron-strong tongue lashed out at Kallus. Stunned, he managed to barely avoid it. The chair lodged in its head caused the Mart-Thing to start spinning like a propeller.

Sabine swung the useless flamethrower, striking the Thing in the upper back. The Thing toppled to the floor, and it got back up to chase her. Sabine stood her ground as the Mart-Thing spun at her, the second mouth continuing to spit and snarl as it got closer. Sabine waited until it was two yards away, before hurling her bundle of dynamite into it. Kallus slammed another chair from the bar into it like he was in a bar fight. Sabine jumped on top of Ezra, trying to shield him from the blast. Kallus tried to jump over the back of the couch and do the same for the others, but was a second too late.

A muffled explosion signaled the end of the Thing as the swallowed explosive ignited from deep within what used to be Mart. Bits and pieces of flesh splattered across the room. Kallus was thrown into a wall by the shockwave, falling to the ground in a heap. The armchair Sabine and Ezra were on was knocked on it side. Sabine scrambled off of Ezra as quickly as she could.

She grabbed Kallus' flamethrower and proceeded to burn each piece of Thing flesh until only ash remained.

 **-0-**

Sabine hastily cinched the ropes down on an unconscious Kallus, she had to make sure he wasn't infected now. She had tied Kallus onto the couch where Mart had sat, next to Ketsu. Gooti was on the opposite side. Sabine quickly drew some more of his blood, keeping the torch positioned on the others.

Gooti sighed, "Mart may have hated it here, but he was an okay guy. Five minutes ago I'd have sworn he was a man. Those damned things are more than imitation."

Sliding Kallus' blood back on the table, Sabine grabbed the wire and reheated it, before isolating Ezra's petri dish. It was now or never for the two of them. Sabine was sweating profusely and her hand trembled as she held the intact flamethrower on Ezra. Ezra was also pouring sweat, his knuckles white as he clenched his hands in anxiety. Sabine held her hand above the dish as she smiled sadly, "Ezra, may I say that I hope you stay with us?"

He gave a weak smile, nodded and closed his eyes. Sabine dropped her hand, the wire hitting the dish. A harmless hiss sounded and Ezra opened his eyes. He took a deep breath as Sabine untied him with one hand, keeping the torch aimed at the others.

Sabine handed Ezra the flamethrower, then picked up Ketsu's dish. Heating the wire with the working torch, Sabine looked at Ketsu. Ketsu stared stoically at her and nodded. "Lets do it."

Sabine touched the wire to the plate, and the light hiss sounded again. Ketsu exhaled, then realized who she was sandwiched in between. She turned to look at Gooti and the unconscious Kallus, and struggled against her bonds. "Get me outta here! Cut me loose! Cut me the hell... come on. Get me the hell out of here! Cut me loose, damn it!"

Sabine sliced away Ketsu's bindings and the radio operator scrambled onto the floor, away from Gooti and Kallus. She limped over to the table where Sabine looked at the ground sheepishly, "Sorry about the leg."

Ketsu laughed, "What can I say? I tried to kill you. Be happy you didn't aim any higher, you sure could have."

Sabine nodded, "Start fixing that thing." She pointed to the broken flamethrower.

Kallus woke with a start, realizing he was now bound. The others snapped their attention to him. He looked at Sabine and said, "Hey! What happened? I know you ladies and gentleman have been through a lot, but why am I tied down again?"

Sabine narrowed her eyes, "We have to make sure Mart didn't infect you." She grabbed Kallus' dish, but he said, "Wait! How about yourself? How do we know that you're you?"

Sabine shrugged, before cutting her arm again and applying the hot wire to the blood. It hissed. Kallus nodded, "Alright, how about me now?" Sabine did the same for Kallus' blood. It didn't react and Sabine cut Kallus loose.

By now, Ketsu had fixed the flamethrower and strapped it on. Kallus grabbed a couple flares, sticks of dynamite, and grenades. He also picked up the Mossberg 590A1 before training it on Gooti.

Gooti stared grimly ahead. She could do nothing as Sabine and Kallus soaked her and the couch with buckets of kerosene. Ketsu and Ezra got on opposite sides of her as Sabine grabbed the dish holding Gooti's blood. Everybody tensed, adrenaline pumping and breathing stopped.

Sabine smirked evilly at Gooti and moved the wire to just above the plate, before lifting it back up again. She repeated several times, moving the wire close only to pull it away from the blood. Ezra chuckled darkly at Sabine's trolling of Gooti; true it was a little sadistic, but Gooti had tried to convince the others to kill Sabine, so to him it made sense.

Gooti finally snapped, "Just get it over with already!" Sabine raised an eyebrow, but complied, and the blood sprang up.

 **-0-**

Ketsu flopped down in the armchair as Kallus sprayed the contents of a fire extinguisher over the remains of the Gooti-Thing. It had been much easier this time, the kerosene soaking the Gooti-Thing's clothes had made it a literal fuel drum. It was fried to a crisp struggling to escape its bonds by both Ketsu and Ezra's torches.

Ezra set his torch down and smiled as he turned to Sabine. He quickly closed the distance between the two, taking her head in his hands and kissing her. Sabine froze momentarily, thinking for a second that he would try to attack her, before she relaxed into the embrace and kissed him back.

Ketsu looked at them and snorted, "Hey! Didn't Commander Tano make a rule against public displays of affection?! Especially snogging?!"

Sabine laughed, breaking out of her kiss to smirk at Ketsu, "She's not here is she? Also, I don't think the rules apply anymore based on what's happened. And we just learned the few of us are human. Wouldn't you be glad?"

Ketsu smiled and shook her head. Kallus leaned back against the wall, dropping the fire extinguisher, "Is it finally dead?"

"I think so. Except the couch is destroyed."

Kallus smiled as well, "Good riddance. I've spent too much of this winter tied to that fucking couch!"

Ketsu started to giggle uncontrollably. The strain placed on the others started to loosen as they heard the giggle turn into a full blown laugh and Ezra scowled at Ketsu's uncontrollable laughter. Sabine started to chuckle as she looked up, taking a small comfort in both the laugh and the vibrating of the roof as the wind howled above them. Hopefully, they could fix the radio. Once the storm cleared, she thought, they could hopefully get help and leave this hell. A shame that they couldn't fly out, Saw had destroyed the helicopter. _Wait a minute..._

Ezra grumbled at Ketsu, "Shut the hell up." She laughed even harder before wiping her eyes and settling down. She grinned as she turned to face Sabine, but it faded as she Sabine's now alarmed expression. An uneasy silence settled over the others as the stark realization hit them all.

Sabine spoke, her voice almost a whisper. "Saw..."

 **Next Chapter: The Beginning of the End**


	12. Chapter 12: Saw Misses his Flight

**Hello everyone! Well, testing's mostly done and I've managed to put my umpiring problems behind me. So we are now approaching the final battle, I hope you are all enjoying the story so far and love this chapter!**

 **Also, for all my American readers, I hope you have a good, meaningful Memorial Day. For all my other readers, never forget those who died for your country, whichever country you may live in, so we can live in relative peace.**

 **Another snippet from my upcoming prequel: I plan it to have three parts: one at an American radar station, one at a Soviet research base, and the last will be an aftermath that will range from a Soviet submarine to a Japanese Self-Defense Force outpost.**

 **teresa. spanics -** I'm glad you loved the last chapter. I will say right now, Saw was not the first person to be assimilated. He was assimilated early, but he was not the first. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

 **Achilles453 -** I'm so happy you loved the blood test scene! I was a little afraid that it would be too much like the one in the movie, but I'm glad you liked it. Well, I thought these chapters needed a little bit of humor, so I included Sabine's somewhat sadistic trolling of the Gooti-Thing and the "tied to this fucking couch" line. Seeing how Saw is based on Dr. Blair, I think you already know what role Saw will play in this chapter and the next. I hope you like this chapter, there aren't many left

 **Guest -** I'm glad you liked the chapter! As for how the Thing assimilates its victims, I do not believe it is how the borg would. I honestly have no clue how the borg assimilate people, I don't watch Star Trek. For the Thing though, nobody really knows. The best I can say is that the Thing digests the cells of its victim, then changes its own cells to imitate someone. That's also the reason it can't assimilate inorganic matter as well, no DNA to mimic. I'm not 100% sure, but that's what I've been going off of writing this.

 **Outpost 17, March 13, 1987, 0415 Hours**

Ketsu stood at the only unblocked doorway, holding one of the flamethrowers. The others were going to go test Saw shortly, but Ketsu wouldn't be able to fight through the storm with her wounded leg. She gazed out the frosted window in the direction of the tool shed. Her head started to droop; Ketsu hadn't slept in a while. She was so tired she didn't hear the footsteps of the approaching person until a voice rang out from behind her.

"Ketsu." Ketsu's head snapped up to see Sabine standing in the corridor. Several sticks of dynamite and several flares were strapped to her flight jacket and winter gear. Ezra and Kallus walked up behind her, Ezra carrying the other flamethrower while Kallus had a shotgun slung over his shoulder, and several thermite charges strapped to his belt.

Sabine continued, "We're heading out to give Saw the test. If he comes back without us, you know what to do."

Ketsu nodded and opened the door. Sabine lit a flare as the three ventured out into the howling winds of the storm. Ketsu watched them leave with some sadness, she could not shake the feeling in her gut that she would never see them again.

Outside, the blizzard was at its peak, winds battering against them and snow and ice hitting them with the force of hail. The wind threatened to blow them across the ice, and they gripped the guide rope for dear life as they struggled through the blizzard.

They neared the tool shed to find the door wide open, the wind blowing into the hangman's noose sending it swinging wildly. The three paused at the entrance, trying to balance themselves. They entered to find no trace of Saw. Ezra looked at Sabine and Kallus, "How'd he get out? Didn't we bolt the door from the outside?"

Sabine sighed, "Check the room. See if anything's loose."

Kallus stepped further into the room and discovered that he was standing on a loose floorboard. Kallus looked at both Sabine and Ezra, and they pulled it up to see a hole in the ground. There was a humming noise from below. Something was down there. They pulled up a couple more floorboards, revealing an underground tunnel. The three descended slowly into it, Ezra first, Kallus second, and Sabine last.

Cautiously, Ezra called out, "Saw? You down here?"

Kallus joined in, "Hey Saw! Are you down there! We've got something for you!"

The tunnel descended about 10 feet below ground and opened into a chamber. The chamber was almost completely filled by a strange, metallic contraption. It was crudely fashioned, a patchwork job, but still incredibly streamlined. The craft looked like a smaller version of the UFO that they had inadvertently blown up several days ago. It was large enough for one man, or thing, and looked like a mini submarine. There was an engine in the back with directional vanes on the front. There was a bubble cockpit on the top.

Sabine whistled as she approached it, "Saw's been busy out here by himself."

Ezra looked at her, "What is it?"

"Everything that's been missing. Smart son of a bitch put it together piece by piece. He used parts from the vehicles, the roof of Kallus' shack, and the roof of the greenhouse."

Kallus shrugged, "It's a ship of some kind. An escape craft perhaps?"

Ezra nodded, "Where do you think he was trying to go?"

"Anywhere but here." Sabine pulled out a large bundle of dynamite taped together. "But he's not going to make it."

They paused as a loud screeching came from somewhere in the darkness above. The three scrambled up the tunnel to the tool shed to find nothing. For off amidst the howling gale, the screech was heard again. Sabine, Ezra, and Kallus all gathered around the door. Less than a minute after the screech, there was a small boom, and to their horror, the outpost's lights went out.

 **-0-**

Ketsu was beginning to worry. They had been gone a while, and she had no means to contact them. Ketsu saw the dim glow of the flare disappear, so she hoped that they were still alive. She heard something from somewhere in the building, the echo of a clang. Silently, Ketsu crept towards the corridor, her flamethrower never lowering. She tentatively yelled out, "Saw? Is that you?"

There was a squishing sound from somewhere and Ketsu now desperately wished she was not there alone. Ketsu silently crept through the hallway, inspecting each room. The corridors had once been filled with life and activity from the 13 man crew, but now it was just her. If the Thing was here, then it had to have killed the others. Ketsu shuddered as that thought sunk in, _she was alone._ She was alone, injured, and the only person left who could kill the Thing. The base seemed different somehow, like the hallways were not the ones she had spent months in.

The squishing sound came from the end of the hallway, and Ketsu saw a trail of viscous yellow ooze leading around the corner. She hurried after it as quickly as she could given her injured leg. There was a gurgling and hissing, and a taloned arm slunk around the corner in retreat. Ketsu cautiously poked the nozzle of her torch into the door, and she peeked around the ledge. There, in the middle of the secondary supply room, was the block of ice the Thing had originally come from, but the Thing was nowhere to be seen.

Something fell on the floor. She looked up at the hole in the roof, and sighed in relief. It was ice dripping down, falling through the hole in the roof. She crept further into the room when there was a clang behind her, out in the hallway. Ketsu whirled, keeping her weapon trained on the door, when she felt something fall and hit her shoulder. Ketsu glanced at her coat, and to her surprise, there was a small drop of red liquid. _Blood!_ Ketsu looked up at the hole, only for her eyes to widen in alarm. Staring down at her was the Thing! It smiled at her, before it let out a bone-rattling screech and a good two-thirds of its body lunged at her.

Ketsu screamed and pulled the trigger, but the Thing was too fast. Its arms clamped down on her and pulled, trying to rip through Ketsu's heavy thermal gear. The flamethrower fell to the ground as Ketsu was hauled out of the room through the hole in the roof and flung through the air. She landed on her back, hard. Lying down on the ice, Ketsu flipped over and tried to light a stick of dynamite, but all her weapons were lost when she was thrown through the air. Ketsu spotted the tool shack ahead of her, and she desperately tried to crawl towards it.

Ketsu heard the screech again and quickened her pace. She looked behind her, expecting to see the Thing right behind her, but there was nothing. Only driving snow and ice. Her confusion turned into terror when the snow opened up and two arms punched through on either side of her. Ketsu shouted in horror and fear as she was dragged below the ice into a tunnel.

 **-0-**

The emergency lights kicked on, casting the base into a strange bluish glow as Kallus and Ezra turned to Sabine, who had become the de-facto leader of the group. Sabine lit a flare inside the tool shack, flooding a reddish light across the walls of the small shack, and looked at her two companions with wide eyes. "It got back inside and blew the generator."

Kallus sighed, "Then the heat's off. In a few hours it'll be nearly a hundred below in here."

Ezra looked at them in shock, "But that's suicide! Right? Nothing should be able to survive that."

Sabine's eyes held a bit of fear and realization in them, "Not for that Thing. It wanted to freeze now. Its got no way out of here anymore once we're finished. It just wants to go to sleep in the cold until a rescue team finds it. Until Commander Tano returns."

"But how could it have known we would be coming here? It can't read our minds." Ezra's voice shook with suppressed fear, "Could it?"

Sabine's eyes widened even further, "It has to. It must be telepathic! Remember before it escaped, it gave you nightmares as well as several other of us. And it's been one step ahead of us this entire time. It knew Saw was going crazy, and what he was about to do, and used that to its advantage. When the lights went out, it lured Jai to the greenhouse, knowing he would discover my clothes and blame me. Now, it knew we were coming out here and knew we would discover its little escape plan. Saw must have used that as a distraction to probably kill Ketsu and get the generator. It knows we can't withstand the cold, but it can!"

"What can we do? Our options are pretty limited now."

Kallus looked at Sabine and Ezra, "Whatever happens to us, we can't let that Thing freeze again. Any suggestions."

Sabine drew a breath in and smirked, her eyes now filled with some mischief. She clutched Jyn's crystal in her hand as she chuckled, "Maybe we should warm things up a little around here."

Kallus nodded, "You both realize that we probably won't make it out alive, right?"

Ezra nodded now, matching the somewhat amused gaze of his girlfriend, "Neither will that thing."

Sabine smirked and ran over to the hole in the ground. She pulled several sticks of dynamite off her jacket and taped them into a large bundle. She lit the fuse, "Time for Saw to miss his flight."

Sabine flung the bundle down the tunnel and turned to catch up with the others. The dynamite rolled down the tunnel before coming to a stop next to Saw's escape craft. The fuse burned away and the tool shed exploded behind them. They hurried back to the entrance through the storm, but Ezra paused, his gaze resting on a small shack next to the hangar.

He turned to his two companions, "Hey guys! I have an idea!" He beckoned them to the shack and threw open the doors to reveal equipment for launching weather balloons. Ezra smirked at the puzzled expressions on Sabine and Kallus' faces. "We've never used this because Commander Tano's mission didn't include launching weather balloons, but the equipment was kept for future expeditions. Namely, the three hydrogen tanks."

The eyes of the two pilots lit up instantly, "And hydrogen is extremely flammable. Good idea Ezzy." Since Ezra still carried his flamethrower, Sabine and Kallus each grabbed the tanks. They lugged them inside, Ezra leading the way with his torch. They paused in the primary supply room, where Sabine had broke through and shot the Zare-Thing, and began to formulate a plan.

Sabine drew a makeshift diagram of the outpost in the snow that blew through the broken window. Kallus gave the plan, "Okay, we plant the hydrogen tanks in the basement and release the valves. The basement will be our last stand."

Ezra shook his head, "Slight problem, that shack outside wasn't sealed, those valves are frozen solid and they won't open. Slicing the top off or boreing a hole won't work either cause it'd be too dangerous. The tank would become a missile and probably kill you."

Sabine nodded, "Right. They'll still burn if there's an explosion from outside, right?" Ezra nodded and Sabine smiled, "Perfect. Plan A should be torching it up here. We don't want to destroy our shelter if we don't have to. If that fails, Plan B is that whoever's left of us lures the Thing into the basement. A few charges of dynamite and thermite, touched off by that torch or a stick of dynamite should do the trick. The hydrogen would add to it. Nothing should survive that explosion."

Ezra nodded, "Okay, so how do we get it where we want?"

Kallus answered, "One of us will have to board up the last entrance. It might have gone outside to try and kill us there. The other two will place charges down in the basement and lay the trap. For Plan A, we'll meet it at the fork over there," he pointed to the first fork in the corridor. "Lay some oil on the ground, have the torch ready in the main corridor, and some dynamite for backup. We'll get it to enter here at this entrance and chase us to the trap. If it fails, we can fall back to the basement stairs."

Ezra shook his head, "But who will board up the entrance? What if that Thing's already inside?"

Sabine sighed, "It's a chance we have to take. We need to force it down that corridor to the trap, and we need to keep our rear clear so we can retreat if things don't go well."

"I'll do it." Kallus said without hesitation. "I thought it up, I'll take the risk. It might be in the generator room, so watch out."

Sabine and Ezra nodded, fully aware that this might be their last stand. "That Thing with it's telepathy might know of our plan, so take this," Kallus handed them each a pistol from Jyn's cache, "It won't do much against the Thing, but it won't assimilate dead matter. It also won't hurt too much. If it grabs you, put the muzzle in your mouth and pull the trigger. It's quick and painless." Sabine and Ezra nodded grimly again. Sabine held out her hand to the Navy Lieutenant, "It's been an honor serving with you Lt. Kallus."

Kallus took it, "Likewise, Ms. Wren. I hope we see each other again."

 **-0-**

The three humans worked feverishly. Sabine and Ezra walked down the basement stairs to the generator room, only to find it completely smashed and destroyed. They quickly laid their dynamite and thermite charges, not wanting to spend any much longer time than needed down there.

Upstairs, Kallus boarded up the door, keeping a lit molotov next to him the entire time. Everytime he heard something, Kallus stopped and prepared himself for a last stand, but nothing came. It was almost as if the Thing was toying with them. Kallus finished his work and stepped back towards the main corridor. He held the molotov in one hand and the pistol in the other. Sabine and Ezra emerged from the stairs no different than they went down.

Kallus nodded at them, it was now or never. Ezra asked, "How long's it been?"

"Fifteen minutes. Now we wait."

Sabine hummed agreement, "I'll get to the other side of the corridor, cover our rear. Kallus, you and Ezra be ready to torch it."

"You got it."

Sabine ran over next to the radio room and basement stairs as Kallus and Ezra took up position at the fork. Ahsoka's office and the ad building were right across from them. Kallus watched the main corridor, looking at Sabine who was crouched in the corridor, molotov and flare in hand. She had one more bundle of dynamite on her jacket, but she didn't want to waste it. Kallus had the rest of the dynamite, which was also on his coat, he still held a molotov and a lit flare. They needed to keep the dynamite in reserve.

They waited for a long time. Ezra shuddered, it was getting colder by the second. "One hour. Maybe it's not coming."

Kallus shook his head, "It has to. It needs us to escape. Think, if Commander Tano finds only Saw, what do you think will happen? It needs all of us to make the deaths look-."

Their conversation was cut short by a scratching sound at the door. Ezra tensed, his fingers tightening around the trigger of his flamethrower. Kallus cautioned him with a whisper, "Hold on... We need it on that fuel."

The Thing at the door began to pound it from outside. Sabine heard this and lit her molotov. Kallus held out an arm, motioning for her to stay put, "Wait for it..."

The door boomed and the whole building seemed to shake. The ceiling quivered and Kallus and Sabine readied to throw their molotovs.

There was an explosion from above, a screech, and the Thing dropped down through the roof between them.

 **Don't you all love cliffhangers?**

 **Next Chapter: The Final Battle**


	13. Chapter 13: Showdown

**Sorry it took me a while, I had to re-edit this several times. Anyways, here we are. The final showdown. I hope you like it! Remember, feel free to leave a comment/review.**

 **teresa. spanics -** I'm glad you liked the last chapter! I didn't really want to reveal anything until after I finished this story, but you more or less hit the nail on the head for the course of assimilation. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!

 **Achilles453 -** Thank you! I did sort of feel bad about doing that to Ketsu, but I had to have a flamethrower be found in the storage room, so she had to be lured there and attacked. And the spaceship that they found in the beginning looked more or less like a submarine, so Saw's escape craft had to be similar. I hope you like the showdown between Saw and the last three humans!

 **Outpost 13, March 13, 1987, 0620 Hours**

The Thing dropped down amongst them, right at the stairwell to the basement. It had cut them off from their last fallback!

The three humans stumbled back from it, but recovered quickly. Kallus and Sabine each threw their molotovs at the Saw-Thing. It stood there for a moment, silhouetted in flame. Enormous. Grotesque. Unearthly.

It had multiple arms, standing over eight feet tall. Half of Saw's face was still visible, with the other half consisting of a glowing red eye and a huge maw filled with jagged sharp teeth jutting out to the side. It looked almost like a T-Rex head. An unearthly scream came out of it's mouth and it strode towards Kallus and Ezra, the most dangerous because they had a flamethrower. Ezra unleashed a jet of flame, but the confined space hindered the fire. Merely a third of it lit up. The Saw-Thing's chest opened up and a tentacle came out, attempting to spear the two humans. Kallus pushed Ezra to the side and dove for the ground. The tentacle slammed into the ad building door.

Ezra ran into the kennel hallway, turning to try to burn the Thing, but it didn't come after them. It knew about the fuel on the ground. Instead, it had turned back towards Sabine. He glanced over at the weapon's locker to see the glass smashed and one weapon missing. Saw's revolver was gone, and Ezra had a sinking suspicion that he knew who, no _what,_ had it.

Kallus had jumped to his feet and pulled the handgun out of his pocket. He saw the Saw-Thing moving towards Sabine, who was backed against the wall.

"Hey!" He fired a couple shots before throwing the handgun at the Thing. Quickly, Kallus ignited a flare and held up the bundle of dynamite. He lit the fuse. "I'll blow all of us up, you motherfucker!"

The Saw-Thing stopped, it knew that Kallus' dynamite could kill it. It spun fast and Kallus saw something in its hand. _Saw's pistol!_ Kallus' eyes widened and he threw the bundle, but as soon as he did, he felt something slam into his chest. Kallus was thrown onto the ground as a bullet from Saw's revolver smashed into his chest. The pain coursed through him, and Kallus knew instantly what had been hit. His breathing became labored as he crawled down the corridor, through the door of Ahsoka's office. He leaned against Ahsoka's desk as he heard the dynamite explode.

Sabine had run down the corridor as Kallus had thrown his dynamite. The bundle had gone past the Thing and exploded near the fork where she was a minute ago. The shockwave blew apart part of the walls and sent Sabine tumbling down the hallway. She quickly somersaulted to her feet and ducked into the primary supply room. She dove out the window she had broken open only a few hours ago, out into the storm.

Ezra ran back to the fork just after the dynamite exploded. The Thing was caught by the explosion, and the dynamite blasted a dog-sized chunk off of it. The mini-Thing saw Ezra and ran at him. Slowly at first, but it became faster and faster as it sprouted more and more legs. It scrambled off the floor, up to the ceiling to escape the blast of flame from Ezra's flamethrower. Ezra had to retreat, there was no way he could face both Things at once. There seemed to be something else though. Faint, through the storm, Ezra thought he heard a mechanical rumbling, like a motor. He ran back towards the kennel, thinking as he went.

Kallus had been shot and was in no condition to do any more fighting. Ketsu was missing for a while and probably dead and absorbed. But he had not seen Sabine anywhere since the Thing surprised them. Two questions ran through his mind as he jumped into the kennel. _Had it killed her? Was he now alone?_

Ezra jumped into the kennel, prepared to make a last stand. The doglike-Thing charged around the corner and spotted him. It snarled and leaped at Ezra, but was met with a wall of chicken wire. Ezra had slammed shut the door of the kennel and backed into the far corner, away from both the Thing and the hole in the roof.

The Thing snarled as it melted into an octopus-like mass of tentacles and slid through the wire, but Ezra had other ideas. The jet of flame flew from the end of the flamethrower. It shot through the wire and slammed full force into the Thing. It writhed in the flames, before it's face split. A jet of some kind of acid shot out. Stunned, Ezra dodged. It missed his face, hitting his arm. The acid burned through the winter coat, before it froze in the intense cold. The Thing jumped through the hole in the wire it had created, still on fire, and attacked Ezra. Ezra again sidestepped and hit the Thing with another blast of flame. The Thing screeched before it fell to the ground.

There was a shadow on the wall cast by the fires now ignited by Kallus' dynamite. A large humanoid figure was creeping towards him through the hallways. Ezra had no escape that way, his only path was to retreat into the storm. While it was slackening, the weather was still inhospitable, but Ezra had no choice. All other entrances were blocked off except for the hole in the roof.

He jumped, hoping that nothing would be there to meet him up on the roof. He hauled himself up through the hole as the Thing came into the kennel and he took off in one direction. Where could he go? There was nowhere safe anymore. Back from somewhere in the base, there was a snarl as the Saw-Thing realized it had just missed him. Then there was nothing, except for the mechanical rumbling he heard before. What could that be?

 **-0-**

The mechanical rumbling neared the wall of the lab before the tractor, used for clearing snow from the outpost paths and towing the helicopter into the hanger, crashed through the wall. Its enormous shovel tore half of the roof to pieces immediately. In the driver's seat sat Sabine. Her eyes glinted with a wild, untamed fury; she looked stark, raving mad. The beginning of frostbite on her face looked somewhat like black war paint. A stick of dynamite was clenched in her teeth like a buccaneer's cutlass, the rest of the bundle of dynamite still hooked onto her jacket.

The tractor came to a halt, and Sabine yanked the explosive from her jaws and bellowed, "Okay Saw! It's just you and me now! Stay on your toes cause I'm about to do some remodeling!"

She gunned the throttle of the tractor and the vehicle smashed through the wall into the infirmary. Medical equipment, that survived the Thing's sabotage, went flying in every direction as the powerful machine destroyed the prefabricated walls with ease.

BOOM! The tractor ran through the mess hall, then the pantry. Everything went flying as Sabine continued on her rampage: tables, chairs, utensils, plates. Sabine began to sing some flying song as she destroyed everything in sight. Her eyes continued glancing around the rooms, watching anything and everything.

The tractor proceeded to plow through the kitchen, the roof behind her beginning to crumble inwards. The powerful vehicle carried on as Sabine continued to sing. She yelled out again, "Chime in if you know the words, old man!"

Sabine plowed into the pub. She stopped, backed up, and grabbed a bottle of vodka from the bar. She called out again, "You like vodka? Come and join me! It'll be good for you! Grow fangs on your chest!"

She took a drink and rammed into the rec room. The tractor stopped and Sabine jumped off of it, igniting a flare and holding it next to the extremely short fuse of the stick of dynamite. Her eyes darted from everything to everything else: the hole in the wall she just made, the burned remains of the Gooti-Thing, and the doors. She winced as the cold wind blew in through the path she just made.

"Come on Saw, you old geezer! It's going to get pretty cold in here soon, and I'm only one person. From what I can tell, you must really hate me as well. I mean, you must be pretty pissed off that we ruined your trip." She took a swig from the vodka bottle before putting it in the pocket of her jacket. "That was a pretty spiffy little contraption you had there, wasn't it? You would be somewhere warm by now, right?"

A slight tremor in the foundation caught her attention. All she had to do was lure it out now, "But your real problem is those looks of yours." The tremor strengthened and Sabine's adrenaline began to pump harder. She so wanted Saw to show himself now, then she could get to the basement stairs. "That's it, Saw! I know you're around here somewhere!"

The ground began to shake and the tractor lifted up, revealing the gaping maw of the Saw-Thing. A claw shot out, barely missing Sabine's face by a few centimeters. She lit the short fuse and hurled it, she just needed the distraction now. The dynamite exploded, blowing the tractor apart and disorienting the Thing.

Sabine was long gone, diving through the path of destruction she had made a minute ago. She rushed across the main corridor and nearly flew down the basement stairs, jumping over the railing towards the end. She expected the Thing to follow her, but there was nothing. She lit another flare as she backed into the center, by the generator room. Most of the charges had been removed, but there were still some, and the buried hydrogen tanks would still explode.

She looked out at the darkness around her, the flare her only light. The flare cast weird shadows across the walls, and bathed the white walls in an eerie reddish glow. Sabine yelled out, "I know you're here somewhere! Show yourself!" But only silence followed.

Sabine let out a deep breath, calming her racing heart. "This is satisfying, in a way. I'm still here, and as long as I do, you will lose. I _am_ human, and I have what you, your otherworldly race, doesn't. Not an imitated, but a bred in the bone instinct, a driving, unquenchable fire that's genuine. I'll fight, fight with a ferocity you may attempt to imitate, but you'll never equal! I'm _human_! I'm _real_! You're an imitation, false to the core of your every cell!

"All right. It's a showdown now. You know my plan. You, with your mind reading. You've lifted the idea from my brain. You can't do a thing about it. You have to come and face me, or else you'll die. You have to try to stop me here. I'll blow up this base and you as well. I'll die, but I'm taking you with me."

There was a noise to her left, coming from the old storage room. A figure stumbled out, emaciated and covered in small, writhing tentacles. Sabine recognized the mutilated face immediately, "Ketsu!"

The Ketsu-Thing staggered towards her, coming out of the shadows. She fell to her knees, and looked at Sabine pleadingly. "Help me." The voice was pained, raspy, almost as if Ketsu was still inside, and fully aware of what was happening to her. "Sabine... help me. The... pain. Too intense. It wants... to kill you. Make you... suffer."

Sabine backed away, horrified at the hideously mutilated visage of one of her closest friends. The Ketsu-Thing's head rolled as she moaned as she pleaded with Sabine for some, any form of relief. Sabine's horror intensified as the planks in the back of the storage room shot up and something large rushed towards them. Sabine dove to the side into a couple barrels as the Saw-Thing neared her. A large tentacle shot up from where she was standing. Another came from under Ketsu and burst through her chest and mouth. The Ketsu-Thing screamed as the large tentacles ballooned outwards.

The Saw-Thing emerged through the floor, dragging what was left of Ketsu into it. Sabine scuttled back from it even further as the Saw-Thing drew itself up to its full height. A roar emerged from the T-Rex like maw and it stared down at Sabine. From the remnants of Saw's mouth, the Thing spoke to her. "The others wanted you to die, Sabine Wren. But where I see revenge, I also see opportunity."

"Why are you doing this?! What did we do to you?!" she yelled back.

"Now why should I tell you? Do you have any reason to trust me? Because I have no reason to trust you. I want you dead because you've revealed and killed a lot of our brethren. I assume you'd try do the same with me. Most likely, only one of our species is getting out of here alive." The Thing laughed, a hideous sound coming from the misshapen head. "If you detonate that dynamite, you'll kill the both of us."

"I mean it when I say, so be it!" Sabine snarled.

The Thing laughed again, "Always focused on violence, aren't your kind? I'm willing to forget about the others you killed. If you help me rebuild my ship and get off this planet. Or we can both die here."

"You killed a lot of my friends here, and now you want me to risk everyone else on this world based on nothing but the word of a misshapen talking dinosaur? Maybe you know you're cornered now, and that's why you haven't attacked yet. Maybe you know you can't win, but I don't care anymore. You killed them, you killed them all! Zare, Sumar, Saw, Gooti, Jai, Mart, Jyn, Ketsu, and now probably Kallus and Ezra."

"Some of those deaths were... necessary, some accidental. You don't know what you're doing. I know secrets that can give man the stars, if you just help me." Met with silence, the Saw-Thing sneered, "You'd deprive your race of priceless secrets, for nothing but a petty vendetta?"

Sabine snarled as she lit the short fuse of the dynamite, remembering the word her parents had taught her to respect. Settling scores. "Skira. You may not know what it means, but I do." She smirked as a look of fear flashed across the Saw-Thing's face. "Who is more afraid of death now?" She taunted.

The Thing snarled and roared at her, "Then you will die." It launched at her, attempting to engulf her before the dynamite exploded.

Sabine turned and dove off the small ledge leading to the generator room. She somersaulted to her feet and turned. "Well, fuck you too!" She flung the bundle of dynamite, the fuse nearly burned away, and took off for the generator room. She slid and found some shelter underneath the destroyed generator.

It was the turn of the Thing to scream in terror as the fuse burned away completely, and the bundle exploded. The explosion ignited the other charges of dynamite and thermite in the storage room and the hydrogen tanks. Sabine felt a searing heat as she and the remnants of the generator were blown back into the wall of the generator room. The last thing she saw was the blinding light before everything went black as half of the base went up in a massive hydrogen-fueled fireball. A fireball that blew the Thing apart and burned it all away. It's last thought was that out in the snow, a severed limb from itself had gotten free, scuttling away into the snow. It might have to wait a long time to find another victim, maybe another 100,000 years, but it would still live. The Thing would rise again.

 **-0-**

Half of the camp had been obliterated by the fireball and burned to the ground. The intact rooms were Ahsoka's office, the ad building, the crew quarters, the greenhouse, the secondary supply room, the kennel, and the radio room. All the rooms above the basement, the ones Sabine had plowed through during her rampage, were obliterated. Off in the distance, the glow from the burning ruins of the tool shack could be seen.

A lone figure stepped through the damaged hallways, a blanket covering them like a shroud, from their shoulders to the ground. Sabine was hunched over, attempting to put out the fires with an extinguisher, but it was futile. She gave up. Sabine walked into the pub area, which was mostly destroyed. There was an unopened bottle of J&B Scotch lying in the snow. Sabine picked it up and grabbed the half-empty bottle of vodka from her jacket. She took a swig from the vodka bottle before putting them both in her jacket pockets.

Sabine walked over to the overturned weapons locker, grabbing Jyn's remaining charges of thermite. The Saw and Ketsu-Things may have been killed, but Ezra and Kallus were still missing. She had to be ready to defend herself in case one of them was the Thing.

A moan from Ahsoka's office pulled her attention. Slowly, she walked in to see a pair of human legs sticking out from behind Ahsoka's desk. She rounded the desk to see Kallus leaning against the desk, clutching his chest. A frozen pool of red liquid lay on the ground next to him, and Kallus' jacket was stained a deep red.

Kallus opened his eyes and smiled weakly, "Did you kill it?"

"I don't know. Are you still Kallus?" Sabine warily asked.

Kallus smirked and chuckled, but his laugh devolved into a coughing fit, "Bullet hit my lung. I don't have much time left. You still have flares, the blood's right there." He pointed to the puddle next to him.

Sabine nodded and ignited a flare, she still had multiple of those left. The blood didn't react and Sabine sighed. "Where's the first aid kit. I can help you."

She turned to leave, but Kallus grabbed Sabine's arm. He motioned for her to sit, and she did so next to him. Kallus chuckled again, "No. My time is past. You can't do anything for me, and I don't want you wasting your energy on me." He started coughing again. She handed him the bottle of vodka and he took a drink.

A tear started to fall down Sabine's face, "You didn't have to come after the Thing back there. But you did, and it's going to cost you your life. Why'd you do it? Why'd you save me?"

Kallus smiled sadly, "Because I failed before. Ahsoka gave me an order to keep you all alive, and I've failed eight of you. I failed Jyn. I failed Jai. I failed the rest. I felt I needed to do something. And when I knew I could do something to save my remaining friends, I knew I had to do it. Ezra's still out there, I know he's still alive." He began coughing again before he was able to speak, "I don't have long, so this is my last order Sabine. Find your boyfriend and get out of here. Get out of this place somehow and survive. You've still got a long life left to live, and live it. Live your life with Ezra for me, for all of us."

Kallus coughed again and closed his eyes. He slumped down into Sabine's arms, finally at peace. Sabine's eyes began to flood with tears as she shook Kallus, but it was too late. Alexsandr Kallus was dead.

Sabine closed her eyes and cried silently. She had seen the others die, but had not held any of them in her arms as they passed. The adrenaline had worn off and now Sabine felt nothing but exhaustion, hopelessness and despair. There, leaning against the desk, still holding Kallus' lifeless body, Sabine slowly fell asleep.

 **-0-**

Sabine jumped as she became aware of someone approaching. She stood up and turned to see Ezra in the doorway. The beginning of frostbite marked his face, and he held no weapons. "Sabine, you're alive!"

He rushed towards her, but Sabine backed away, pointing a flamethrower at him. "Ezra, don't. I don't know... Are you... Ezra, are you human?"

Ezra put a hand up in a consoling manner, "Sabine, just take it easy. It's me. Ezra. I'm right here. We're safe now. We'll be okay now." He opened his arms, offering her a welcome hug.

"We're not safe yet. It still might be out there. I don't think I'll ever be okay again."

Sabine continued to back away. "You're not Ezra. You're not the Ezra I love."

Ezra put up both his hands in front of him, "Why would you think that? It's me, Ezra."

"Ezra would never be so trusting. He'd be just as wary as I am. You know how I knew you were human earlier during the final confrontation? Ezra had a twin scar on his cheek, you don't."

Ezra reached up and touched his right cheek. Sabine sighed, "It was your other cheek." Ezra put his hands in front of him, "Sabine, please don't. Let me explain."

Sabine tried to figure out whether she was seeing the truth, or whether she was hallucinating. She depressed the igniter trigger on the torch and tearfully raised it to his head.

A tear ran down her cheek, "The Thing copies your cell's DNA, but things like a dental filling or scars are the result of outside events, so you can't copy it. The Thing inside you didn't copy it."

"NO! Sabine, it's me! Please don't!" Ezra screamed as he realized what she was doing. Sabine tried to convince herself that Ezra's face was elongating and that his voice was becoming less human.

"Ezra, if you're still inside there, forgive me. Please." Sabine pulled the trigger; and she screamed as her heart shattered.

 **Another cliffhanger? You must hate me right now.**

 **I know what you're all thinking. But Ezra was alive in Chapters 1 & 2, right? Don't worry, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out and the ending of this chapter will be explained by the next one. Hint: Sabine falls asleep with nothing but thermite, then has a flamethrower in her hands.**

 **Next Chapter: The Aftermath**


	14. Chapter 14: Should We Make It?

**So, here we are. The final main chapter of my story. There will be an epilogue with an extended author's note at the end which will serve to kickstart my prequel story. I plan to have that up soon. I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please remember to leave a review/comment if you feel like it.**

 **teresa. spanics -** Unfortunately, yes that's how Kallus dies. At least he managed to allow Sabine and Ezra to escape, right? And yes, that is the last of the Things and the next story is about Ahsoka's extended fight against the Thing in the Arctic. I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

 **Achilles453 -** I'm glad you loved the last chapter! It was the last of the action unfortunately. I'm happy you liked Kallus' end. Although getting shot isn't the most pleasant, it's better than getting mutilated by a malevolent alien. Ketsu's death was actually inspired by a scrapped idea for Nauls' death in JC's The Thing. You can find the storyboards on www. outpost31. com storyboards (just remove the spaces and add a backslash before storyboards) if you'd like. As for Ezra, the first few sentences of this chapter should answer it. I do hope your headache got better and I hope you enjoy reading this chapter, even without a lot of action going on.

 **Ashley Torres -** I hope you enjoyed the last chapter, even with all the death and destruction. Don't worry, there won't be anymore death. I hope you like this one as well!

 **Outpost 17, March 13, 1987, 0645 Hours**

Sabine screamed as her eyes snapped open. She jumped up, springing to her feet, with a thermite charge in hand, only to realize that it was just a dream. She had only been asleep a few minutes and she still had a nightmare. Even in death, the Thing continued to haunt her. A few tears escaped her eyes as she remembered that dream. That horrible dream where Ezra was... she couldn't bear to say it now, even to herself. Was it true? It raised the question in Sabine's mind: Where was Ezra? Was he still alive?

The worst of the storm was over, there was only a light wind and moderate snowfall. The reality of her situation sunk back in. She was alone, possibly still in danger, and slowly freezing to death.

Sabine was so lost in self misery and despair that she failed to hear a voice, _Ezra's voice_ , calling over the crackling of the fires. Ezra carefully crept through the destroyed corridor by the kennel. The sun had yet to rise and the only light was from the still burning fires. He had seen the fireball and knew Sabine had to have been the one to set it off. He had to find her. He had to.

"Sabine!" came a voice over the fire. Sabine's head snapped up as she heard footsteps out in the corridor. She knew that gait, it was almost like...

"Ezra!" Sabine yelled as he came to stand in the doorway of Ahsoka's office. His frostbitten face smiled slightly upon seeing her.

"Did you kill it?"

Sabine sighed, "I think so."

"What do you mean you think so?!"

Both Sabine and Ezra spoke guardedly and eyed each other with suspicion. At least until Sabine threw her head back and laughed. "Look at us. Yeah, I got it."

"So you're the only one who made it?"

"Not the only one." Sabine said suspiciously. "Where were you Ezra?"

Ezra sat down, leaning against the wall facing her. "When it came through the roof, it came for me and Kallus. Kallus shoved me down towards the kennel and threw his dynamite. I guess it blew part of the Thing off of it, it saw me and I had to retreat. I burned it outside the kennel, but I thought the rest of it was coming for me. I climbed out through the hole in the roof and got lost in the storm. Then I saw the fireball, and I was able to get back."

He gazed out over the burning ruins, "Those fires have got the temperature up all over the camp. They won't last long though."

Sabine nodded and took another swig from the vodka bottle, emptying it. She threw the empty bottle into the snow behind her. "Then neither will we."

Ezra looked over at where the mostly intact radio room would be, "Maybe we should try to fix the radio... try and call for some help."

Sabine smirked at him, "Do you know anything about how to create or even fix a radio?"

Ezra shrugged and grinned sheepishly, "Uh... no."

Sabine chuckled, "Well there's your answer." Her face fell, "Radio repair was Ketsu's area of expertise."

Ezra's face turned puzzled for a second, "What happened to Ketsu?"

"Saw got her."

"Oh... uh, sorry." He looked down, "If we can't call out for help, then we'll never make it."

Sabine smirked again, "I think we should be asking, 'Should we make it?'" Sabine place one of the thermite grenades in the snow next to her.

Ezra looked at it warily, "Look, if you're worried about me, let's take that blood test of yours."

Sabine chuckled, "If we've got any surprises for each other, I don't think we're in any condition to do anything about it." She smiled and tossed him a knife and a flare, "Though you're welcome to try if you'd like."

Ezra snatched up the flare and knife. He cut his arm, letting some blood collect on the floor. He heated the knife, and applied it to the blood. Nothing happened.

Ezra looked up and smiled. Sabine smiled back as Ezra asked, "Well, what do we do?"

"Why don't we sit here for a little while. See what happens." Sabine opened the bottle of scotch and tipped her head back, taking a large swig. She then smiled at Ezra and tossed the bottle over to him. Ezra grinned and chuckled, before he also threw his head back, taking a healthy gulp. Sabine got up and moved to sit next to Ezra, spreading the blanket to cover the both of them.

Ezra smiled and put an arm around Sabine. Sabine, having not slept in quite some time, laid her head against her boyfriend's chest, and let his steady heartbeat lull her to sleep.

 **-0-**

 **McMurdo Station, March 13, 1987, 0800 Hours**

Ahsoka's snowcat returned to the station just as a helicopter landed. A pilot named Rake Gahree stepped out and walked over to her and Hera. "I'm afraid I have bad news ma'am. We were in the storm, a few miles out from where Outpost 17 would have been. The winds were intense, and it took all I had to keep that bird in the air. Around 0600, there was an explosion, and we could see a glimpse of a fireball rising in the air."

Hera's eyes widened in shock, "A fireball?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm... I'm sorry, but I couldn't keep going. That storm was huge and it's nearing us. I couldn't land and I won't be able to make it back there. None of us can."

Ahsoka hung her head, "There has to be foul play. The only thing that could make an explosion like that would be the station's stock of dynamite and hydrogen tanks."

Hera nodded, "I know. I just hope some of them are alive."

Ahsoka nodded, "I do too. Tell Kanan that we need some Marines down here stat. Have him put out a call, tell command that we suspect foul play occurred at Outpost 17 and we need some armed support. I'll take full responsibility for violating the Antarctic Treaty."

Hera nodded and saluted, "Will do, Commander."

As Hera and Rake ran inside to take shelter from the coming storm, Ahsoka looked out at the storm in the direction of Outpost 17, "Stay safe guys. I'm coming, as soon as I can I'll get there."

 **-0-**

 **March 13, 1987, 1430 Hours**

Ezra shivered as the cold seeped through both the blanket and his jacket. Sabine stirred and opened her eyes. She yawned sleepily and looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

Ezra shivered again, glancing at the dying fires. "Won't be long now."

Sabine instantly knew what he meant. Death by freezing, they needed a warmer, more sheltered spot to wait until Ahsoka and Hera arrived. Suddenly, she got an idea. "Hey Ez, when Saw attacked me in the basement, he came out of a tunnel. The explosion might have collapsed it, but it would be warmer and more sheltered than here."

"You think it's safe?"

"If it isn't, I've got some thermite left and my big, strong fiance with a flamethrower to protect me." She smirked at him.

Ezra nodded, "Well, I don't know how long we'll be waiting. There might be some canned food left, and probably plenty of debris that can become a fire. But what do we do to pass the time while we wait for Ahsoka and Hera?"

Sabine looked up at one of the racks on the wall of Ahsoka's office. On it was an partially burned non-electric chessboard. She got to her feet and wrenched it free. She looked over her shoulder and smirked, "You play chess?"

"A couple times. You?"

Sabine shrugged, "I guess I'll be learning."

Ezra chuckled, "Winner gets their reward if we make it out?"

Sabine shot him a cheeky smile, "You know it." She then gave him a quick kiss. "Let's get going."

Sabine and Ezra walked out of Ahsoka's office and grabbed what intact cans they could find from the destroyed pantry and kitchen. They carefully walked down the ruined basement stairs, having to jump the last several feet down. Sabine walked into the entrance of the old storage room and looked at the ripped up walkway from which Saw had burst through.

Underneath the destroyed walkway was indeed a tunnel. Part of it had collapsed, but it still made a nice, small shelter for the two survivors. Once they had managed to get the damaged lantern working again and a small fire started using wooden debris from above ground, the two snuggled together under the blanket next to the fire, passing the bottle of alcohol, setting up what would be the first of many chess games.

They didn't know what the future held, but they would face it. Together.

 **-0-**

 **McMurdo Station, March 23, 1987, 2145 Hours**

"I guess that wraps up most of it, Commander." Sabine shrugged as Hera landed the helicopter.

Ahsoka nodded and leaned her head back against the bulkhead of the helicopter. Hera called from the cockpit, "We're just glad you two are okay. And that it's dead." Ahsoka got to her feet and jumped out, stretching her arms. "For now, let's get you two into medical. That frostbite's looking bad."

Ezra laughed as her gingerly stepped off the chopper, the adrenaline of the day long since worn off, "I've probably lost a few toes, maybe a finger or two. We should be fine in a couple weeks though."

This time, Hera did the laughing, "That's what _you_ say. The doctor'll probably say otherwise. Get going you two."

Ahsoka watched the two survivors follow Hera back into the Medical Building. A few tears flowed from her eyes as the reality sunk in. This was the _second_ time this creature had landed on Earth. She suspected it to be the same one she had fought in the Arctic after hearing Sabine and Ezra's story. Why did it always have to come after her or the one's she loved? Added with the fact that she had technically broke the law and violated the Antarctic Treaty by authorizing the Harrier strike and bringing a team of Marines to the Antarctic.

She still struggled to wrap her mind around it. 23 people were dead on her watch. The nine researchers from Outpost 17 and the 14 unlucky Marines who succumbed to the Thing. Not to mention everyone that had died at the North Pole years earlier.

There was no way that Ahsoka would escape from this unscathed. This was the second time multiple people had died during a mission she was assigned. She could be made a scapegoat and reassigned to a desk job, discharged, possibly even arrested!

Right now, she needed some comfort. She needed to talk to someone who knew about what had happened. Someone who knew what she had been through.

Ahsoka hurried to her temporary quarters at McMurdo and fumbled through her gear. She soon found what she was looking for, her private satellite phone. Hesitantly, she dialed a number most of her friends didn't know she used.

The satphone rang for about half a minute before the person on the other end picked up, "Ahsoka? It's good to hear your voice again. I must say I didn't expect to hear from you so soon."

Ahsoka smiled sadly, "Likewise. I just wish this call was under better circumstances. It's... it's back."

The person on the other end was quiet for a moment, "Has it been contained? Killed?"

"Fortunately, yes. But there's no way I can escape from this unscathed. I've lost nine out of the twelve other people under my command at Outpost 17 are dead. And 14 US Marines as well."

An audible sigh was heard from the other end, "You've still got allies, Ahsoka. Even though they're retired, Generals Skywalker and Kenobi know what you faced and they'll stand by you. Captain Rex and Lux fought against it with you as well. As did I. We'll all be there for you."

Ahsoka relaxed, "Thanks Kaedan. I mean it. Tell you what, once I get back to the US, we should meet up, maybe get some food with Rex."

On the other end, Kaedan Larte smiled, "I'd like that Ahsoka. Give Rex a call, and Lux as well, I heard he got a job at the Embassy in DC. I've got to get back to work, but I'll talk to you later."

Ahsoka smiled as she ended the connection. Kaedan was right, she still had friends who would help her. She dialed the number for the Soviet Embassy, she owed them all a call anyways.

 **Next Chapter: Epilogue (Four years later)**


	15. Epilogue & Author's Note

**Just a heads up, the first half of this will be the Epilogue for my story. The second half will be an extended Author's Note. I hope you enjoy it!**

 **Ashley Torres -** I'm happy you loved it! I do hope I haven't kept you waiting too long for this epilogue. I hope you enjoy it as well.

 **Achilles453 -** I'm glad that you liked the last chapter even without any action. Sadly, there won't be any action here either. Also. Kaedan knows about the Thing because she will be appearing in my prequel story alongside Ahsoka, Rex, and Lux.

 **Four Years Later...**

Sabine smiled to herself as she landed her Bell 206 helicopter. It had been four years since she and Ezra had killed the malevolent alien known simply as The Thing at Outpost 17 in Antarctica. Sabine and Ezra had been the only survivors, and their relationship had strengthened because of it. They would let nothing get in between them and got married as soon as they returned to the US.

Sabine and her family now lived on Whidbey Island in the Pacific Northwest. Sabine got work as a helicopter pilot, ferrying passengers and cargo or taking tourists on sightseeing tours of Mt. Rainier and the Cascades. Ezra found work as a meteorologist at Whidbey Island Naval Station/Ault Field near Oak Harbor. They now had two children. A girl named Mira Wren Bridger after Ezra's mother and a boy named Alexsandr Kallus Wren Bridger. They reminded their parents each day about who they lived their lives for.

Sabine still kept posthumously promoted Sergeant Jyn Erso's crystal with her in a necklace Ezra had bought. Mira, Alex, and her necklace helped Sabine and Ezra deal with the memories, but they still couldn't leave them buried in the snow. Sabine or Ezra would often bolt awake in the night, remembering what had happened. Sometimes the dreams would take an alternate path. Ezra always had one where the Saw-Thing had dropped down right on top of Sabine, while Sabine would have the nightmare where Ezra was a Thing and she had to burn him. They would always bolt awake to a darkened bedroom and another night of lost sleep.

As the sun began to set, Sabine drove onto the Whidbey Island ferry in Mukilteo and walked up onto the balcony. Gazing out over the water, she gained a sense of inner peace. She always had loved the sound of crashing waves and the cry of seagulls.

She became aware of a person walking up behind her, but didn't turn. This was a public ferry after all. That was, until she heard an all too familiar voice. "It's beautiful, you know. Kallus always did love it here."

Sabine's eyes widened and she spun in surprise. Standing next to her, looking out over Puget Sound while leaning against the railing on the balcony, was an amused looking Ahsoka Tano. "Commander Tano!"

Ahsoka chuckled, "Please Sabine. Just Ahsoka."

"Why are you here?"

Ahsoka laughed again, "I came to see you. How's Ezra doing, by the way?"

Sabine looked down at the water, "He's doing alright. We still... deal with what happened four years ago from time to time."

Ahsoka looked down, "I know what you mean. I was a victim and survivor before as well. Talking about it helps sometimes."

Sabine's face pulled together in confusion. "What do you mean victim and survivor?"

"She means this isn't the first time this creature has come to Earth." A new voice called from behind them. Sabine turned to see a man and woman, both about Ahsoka's age, with the man carrying a briefcase. Behind them was another man slightly older than Ahsoka walking towards them. The one with the briefcase had brown hair and blue eyes and the other had light blond hair and hazel eyes. The woman had darker skin and braided black hair.

Ahsoka smiled and indicated the woman, "This is Kaedan Larte, CIA agent and one of my closest friends." Kaedan smiled at Sabine and took over the introductions, indicating the first man, "Sabine, this is Lux Bonteri, former Soviet technician, and another old friend of the Commander's." She motioned towards the second man, who said, "Captain Rex, Army Rangers, retired. Like you and Ezra Bridger, the four of us are also survivors of a Thing attack."

Sabine was puzzled, "What do you mean? This isn't the first time?"

Ahsoka looked almost sad, "Do you remember every hearing the North Pole Incident being mentioned?"

"Yes... Kallus mentioned something about it."

Ahsoka smiled sadly, "It's the reason I believed Kallus' logs so quickly. I faced an alien attack around 20 years ago, along with both Lux and Rex. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, uh... no offense Lux..."

Lux chuckled, "None taken."

Rex finished, "With the fall of Lux's government, many files have become declassified. Including the ones revolving around what Commander Tano terms the North Pole Incident." He indicated the briefcase.

Ahsoka frowned, "How many times have I told you Rex? Don't call me Commander when we're off duty."

Kaedan finished, "We can show them to you when we get to your house. They may be declassified, but are not yet public knowledge, and neither the CIA nor the Senate wants a panic."

Sabine shrugged, "Okay. Sure thing."

45 minutes later, two cars pulled up at the Bridger house in Coupeville, WA. Ezra heard the key in the lock and heard Sabine call out, "Ezra, I'm home." His eyes opened in surprise as two, not one, familiar faces entered through the door, followed by two strangers. He recognized Sabine and Ahsoka, but not their three companions.

"Commander Tano! Wh-what are you doing here!"

Ahsoka smiled, "Please Ezra, just Ahsoka. I'm not your commander any more."

Sabine laughed at Ezra's surprised face, "Ezra, meet Captain Rex, former US Army Rangers, Kaedan Larte, CIA, and Lux Bonteri, a former Soviet."

Ezra, still bewildered, shook their hands, "Why are you here?"

Lux put his briefcase on the table. He opened it and pulled out a few pictures. "I believe you may recognize these." Ezra and Sabine's eyes widened even further as they leafed through them and Ezra dropped the last photo. "What... what is that?" The photo showed the charred remains of some kind of huge bug-like creature.

Rex nodded and Ahsoka sadly said, "It is. This is the same creature that you fought at Outpost 17. Your ordeal was not the first time humanity has fought the Thing. This photo was taken from a joint US-Japanese-Soviet investigation."

Kaedan spoke up, "The Thing ran rampant across the Arctic for a few weeks in 1970. Only a handful of people knew about it and most of them are dead."

Ezra looked up at Ahsoka, "How did it happen?"

Ahsoka's eyes darkened, "I chased it across the Arctic and because of that, I was declared a rogue by the US and a shoot-on-sight target by the Soviets. They thought I was responsible for all the death. I tried to tell them, but they didn't trust me."

Lux's eyes were sad, "I believe you've heard about the North Pole Incident. For them, it started with a crashed aircraft, but for me, it started when a US helicopter flew low, over the radar station I was stationed at..."

 **To be continued...**

 **-000-**

Hello everyone! Before I begin this extended author's note, I just want to thank all my viewers and especially my reviewers. I had no clue how this story would be received, seeing how there aren't many Thing-fics and even less crossovers between The Thing and Star Wars. Once again, a special thanks to Achillies453 and teresa. spanics for all your feedback and support. I don't think I could have kept writing this without you guys.

I'm writing up a few of the first chapters of my prequel story _Things from Other Worlds_ before I publish so stay tuned. I hope to have it up before August. One question for you all: Should there be a pairing included? If so, would you rather see a Rexsoka, Luxsoka, or Kaesoka pairing?

Another piece of news, this story is now on Wattpad under my old username SWGoji2001. Google my username and this story should be there if you want to check out my Wattpad account. I intend to finish updating it in the near future. Check it out, and several other things that will be coming soon, like movie reviews or such, there as well!

Also, **_SPOILERS_** for the story ahead. So if you haven't read the rest of the story, read it now unless you like or are perfectly okay with spoilers.

 **An Analysis/Explanation of My Story**

So, I first got the idea to write this story after I found my copy of John W. Campbell's novella "Who Goes There?" and reread it. Let me say right now that John Carpenter's The Thing is my favorite horror and suspense movie of all time! Seriously, it was the first movie to make me gag while watching it, and I still can't get over how this film builds up the suspense and all.

I've always been a big fan of sci-fi movies, and I thought that I might be able to tie Star Wars into the The Thing universe. I started writing and it actually began to come together. Even though I'm not completely happy with the first two chapters, I feel that it got better as time went on.

So the biggest question that comes with any Thing-fic is who gets assimilated first and how does it progress onwards. teresa. spanics hit the nail on the head so congratulations to you! The order of assimilation (not including the huskies) begins with Zare, then proceeds in this order: Sumar (partially), Saw, Gooti, Jai, Jyn (partially), Mart, and then Ketsu.

Zare was assimilated when the Thing burst out of the block of ice in Chapter 5. A large piece of the ice knocked him unconscious, and the Thing then chose to assimilate him. After all, it helps to have a backup. The Zare-Thing is also the one to assimilate Saw and Gooti. It got Saw in Chapter 6 and Gooti while Saw was destroying the radio equipment in Chapter 7. The Zare-Thing was the one to sabotage the blood. Notice how when I named the crewmembers in the corridor outside the radio room, Zare was the only one not present. While the Saw-Thing destroyed the communications equipment, the Zare-Thing proceeded to swap the real blood with fake blood, making it appear that Jai had sabotaged it. Later, during the blackout, Zare was the one who closed the door of the greenhouse and trapped Jai inside with the Saw-Thing.

Sumar was partially assimilated when he and Mart were investigating the food cache in Chapter 6. Sumar was impaled by a tentacle and dragged into the Thing where he was absorbed before Sabine and Jyn burned it.

Saw was the third to be assimilated. The part where he is assimilated is in Chapter 6, immediately after the tag **March 10, 1987, 1600 Hours.** Yes, this is before Saw trashes the radio room. Now you may be asking, why would the Saw-Thing destroy the radio equipment and make it harder for him to escape? Think about it, by destroying the radio room and appearing to have gone insane, the Saw-Thing is then left isolated in the tool shed where it is able to make an escape craft without anyone noticing. The Saw-Thing was also the one to sabotage the generator and was in the greenhouse when Jai found the planted evidence during the blackout, making it appear Sabine was infected.

Gooti was the fourth to be assimilated by the Thing. She was attacked by the Zare-Thing while the others were locking the Saw-Thing in the tool shed. Gooti and the Zare-Thing were the only ones inside Outpost 17 at the time, and it's a golden opportunity for the Thing to increase it's numbers. The Gooti-Thing then accused Sabine to try and spread more confusion and suspicion among the humans left standing. The Gooti-Thing was also the one to assimilate Mart during Split-face's rampage.

Jai was of course assimilated by the Zare-Thing and became part of Split-face. Jyn was partially assimilated by the Split-face Thing when she jumped in front of the tentacles and saved Sabine. She then prevented her complete assimilation by blowing herself and the Thing up.

Mart was assimilated by the Gooti-Thing during Split-face's rampage. He was the person running in terror through the hallways and was pulled into a room by what he thought was Gooti, but found out that she was a Thing.

Finally, Ketsu was the last member of Outpost 17's crew to be assimilated. She was attacked by the Saw-Thing while the others discovered Saw's escape craft.

Now, my version of the Thing assimilates it's victims by studying the cells it digests and then shapes it's own according to the victim's DNA. That's how it imitates the exact features of a person, kind of like Norris in the actual movie. This is also why the Thing cannot imitate inorganic matter, as there is no DNA to copy. Notice how Saw has a prosthetic leg though. So if the Thing can't imitate inorganic matter, how did Saw avoid suspicion? Note how in Chapter 7 Ezra finds a bloody hacksaw and shredded clothes. My intent with this was that the Saw-Thing cut off its new leg with the hacksaw so it could re-attach the prosthetic and be 'human.' The severed Thing leg then became the 'reserve' in case the humans managed to destroy it.

My version of the Thing is also telepathic like the one in the book. Sabine realizes this fact in Chapter 12, so I don't think I'll need to go over this in too much detail. The Thing basically uses its telepathy to lure the humans into doing something and to stay one step ahead of the humans. It also knew through telepathy that Sabine would be the most dangerous person to it, so the Thing tried especially hard to kill her. The Thing's telepathy is also why it knows to drop down through the ceiling at the basement stairs in the final battle.

I hope that explains most things about my story for you. If you have any further questions, feel free to leave a comment or PM and I'll answer it to the best of my ability. Also tell me, what was your favorite part of this story?

I hope you all enjoyed reading "Who Goes There?" as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is TerminatorJedi (or SWGoji2001), saying "I'll be back!"


	16. PrequelSequel Is Out!

Hi everyone! My prequel story is now available under the Star Wars The Clone Wars label. Check it out there or go to my profile to find it. I hope you all enjoy it.

And now some overdue responses to comments:

 **teresa. spanics -** Thank you so much for all your support (and for pointing out all my spelling mistakes)! I did not think of having other 'good' aliens appear at the end of the prequel, but I really like that idea. The prequel is now out, so I hope you enjoy it as much as this story!

 **SirLoozeElite -** I'm so glad you loved this story! Sorry about killing Kallus, and just a warning, my prequel will kill off several well-liked Clone Wars characters. Thanks for the fav and follow, and I hope you enjoy the prequel too!

 **Achilles453 -** I had no clue you live near Seattle, it's my favorite city! (Unfortunately, I live on the other side of the country, so I don't go there as much anymore) I'm glad you really loved this story and I do hope you love the next one as well!


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